In October, I was getting ready for school, and happened to look in the mirror and noticed that the shape of my left breast had changed. It was swollen and the shape had flattened on the bottom. When I felt for a difference, I noticed my lump. Well, since October was breast cancer awareness month, and I have come across several survivors and co-survivors (husbands) in my recent life, I thought it would be a good job to get it checked out. A doctor worked me in the next day, and took a look at it.
When I saw the doctor, I told him about the symptoms and that my little sister already had a weird skin cancer and I had an aunt who had breast cancer. He felt for the lump and told me it was a cyst, and that I needed to check back with him in 4 to 6 weeks. He also told me that it was probably nothing since I was too young to have breast cancer. When I went to schedule the appointment, there wasn't a spot open at all. They told me they would call me when there was an opening. I left feeling like I wasted the doctors time and that I overreacted by going to have it checked out. Now, I wonder how hard it would have been for him to send me down for a sonogram. Well.... black powder season... Thanksgiving and hunting... Christmas... happened. I should have been more proactive, but I felt HE was the doctor and knew what he was talking about. I held onto the cyst idea, even after I went to the doctor and was going through scarier symptoms and more testing. I thought, and even told people I was going to get my cyst aspirated. Heck, if I can lie to myself, it isn't scary.
I couldn't act like nothing was wrong when I was stuck at home for a week during a freak sleet storm. The roads were too icy to expect school buses to run, so we missed four days of school. I had a lot of time to do...well...nothing. I noticed that my "cyst" had grown larger, it started hurting and my skin was looking even weirder. I made an appointment with another doctor still hoping for a cyst, and they would drain it, and I would feel better...
Almost immediately she scheduled a mammo. That started my journey of further testing and meeting with doctors that has included sonogram, MRI, CT/PET scan, biopsy, consult, consult, consult...
I'm learning that the mass is large and I have to wait for my doctors to figure the best treatment for me.
5 years ago
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