A Journey Through Cancer and Back

I haven't done a post yet about cancer, and since October is breast cancer awareness month, I think it's a good time to write one. My fight began in 2001, when I had a suspicious mammogram finding of microcalcifications. These are often present when there is cancer in the breast. They are not the same thing as calcium deposits, which are just that; lumps of calcium in the tissue. I needed to have a sterotactic biopsy done. In case you don't know, a stereotactic biopsy is step two for determining the presence of cancer in the breast. I started to describe this procedure for you, but decided it is probably better to spare you the gory details. The radiologist takes several tissue samples from the area where cancer is suspected and examines them under a microscope. She also implants a small clip so that when you have another mammo done, the area is immediatly noticed and easy to locate. This shows up on x-ray also, and makes it the most definite way to excise the right area if you need further biopsies. Depending on what they find, the next step is a surgical biopsy. I needed the next step. They suspected ADH----Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia, a pre-cancerous lesion.I had an excisional biopsy. The surgeon removes a small portion of tissue in the area where the stereotactic was performed. and sends the sample to the lab for determination of disease. This was supposed to be a teaspoon of tissue and turned into a partial mastectomy, as my surgeon thought it best to try to remove every bit of the area that had micro-calcifications. I wasn't too happy when I woke up and she told me the news; we had not even discussed the possibility of that prior to my surgery. I went home with instructions to take it easy and not lift anything for a few days, don't take motrin or aspirin, ice for pain and swelling,etc. Everything would be fine.She neglected to tell me to wear a tight sports bra for support. Everything seemed fine until the next morning when I woke up and rolled over in bed. I felt something let go inside my breast. Over the course of the next hour or so, my breast began to swell. And swell. I called the doctor and went in right away. When my husband and I arrived, we were told that my surgeon wasn't there, she was on vacation. She hadn't told me. I saw an associate who was very nice, examined me without touching me, and told me I probably had a small bleeder and should be fine; it would stop on its own. Come back in two hours if it continued to swell. I went home and waited, and went back in two hours; still growing. I was told again that the bleeding should stop on its own, come back in 2 hours. By this time my breast was enormous and the covering doctor had changed. He sent me to the hospital right away. I had to wait for the surgical repair as I had eaten ONE cookie in the afternoon; I should have listened to that inner voice and not eaten anything, in spite of what the first doctor had said. It's too risky to have surgery for at least six hours after eating solid food. As I waited in the hospital for my time to pass, two of our closest friends came to keep Paul and me company. They could not believe how large I had gotten. I like to joke about it now and say that I normally have oranges, but now I had an orange and half a watermelon. No exaggeration. Sometime after midnight, I had my second surgery. So much for a simple procedure and quick recovery.When she first saw me, one of the covering nurses made a remark about how it's sort of like when you are engorged from breastfeeding when your milk first comes in. I answered her that was true, but when you are breast feeding you haven't had a third of your breast removed the same day. She didn't have much to say after that. I know she meant well and to lighten my mood, but I was tired after so many hours of pain and no food or water. Dr. Simon was wonderful and kind when he finally came from the O.R. he had been in for the last few hours. He told me I had had enough of pain and would put me to sleep right away. No twilight sleep this time, full anesthesia. When I woke up he said that he couldn't find the bleeder as it had finally stopped, but he evacuated the hematoma and cleaned up the area and I should be feeling much better soon. I was taped up very tightly and told NOT to wear any bra and to see him in two days unless there was any problem. I went home the next day. My husband was kind and thoughtful and wonderful during all of this. He took excellent care of me through it all. You might wonder why I don't mention him very often when I write; it's because he told me he doesn't want me writing about him in my blog. So I keep it to a minimum out of respect for him. But he's the best nurse ever and I love him. :0)

When the biopsy results came back, it was what they expected; ADH; pre-cancerous. Come back for mammos every six months for the next two years, and yearly after that if all stayed clear. I hate that all of this happened, but I would still do exactly the same thing; go for my mammo, and then sonogram for cysts. I would still have the stereotactic biopsy, (and have had another one since then) and I would still go for the excisional biopsy(I have done this again too). The next time around I asked the new surgeon and the oncologist about my bleeding problem. They asked many questions and were surprised that no one had ever followed this for me before.(I will spare you the complete details of my history, but it began when I was 3 1/2 years old, had my tonsils out, hemorraghed, nearly died and had a transfusion of a full pint of blood. Adults have 8 pints, but little kids have maybe 4. rather significant) I always tell this history that doctors should have picked up on. Remember that you are your own best advocate and if you think there might be something they are missing, press them for answers. I have a platelet disorder called Von Willebrand's trait. Now I get medication prior to any surgery and have no problems.

I am an advocate for mammos every year. Early detection will save your life. Don't make excuses that you are too busy, mammos hurt, there's no history in your family, or anything else. Begin at forty if you live on Long Island; the breast cancer rate here is one in four. It is one in nine for the rest of the country. We still don't know why that is, but it is reason enough to get your baseline mammo early and every three years after that until you are fifty, when it should be yearly. I will tell the rest of my story in a day or two. Check back if you are interested.