Breast Cancer Journey (Part Two)

Most women past the age of forty have experienced a mammogram.  For the uninitiated, it's kind of like being run over by a steam roller that backs up and runs you over again from another direction. That's why I call the Breast Center the Booby Garage.  But, if being run over once a year saves your life...it's worth it.

The second step in my breast cancer journey, following mammogram and ultrasound, was an MRI.  While I really don't like tight spaces, I survived a previous MRI without a problem, so I really wasn't too concerned about the process.  To be honest, I was way more fearful of the IV needle used for injecting contrast solution.  I am a "hard stick" and two techs spent about ten minutes inspecting both arms from above my elbows to the tops of wrists before finding one good vein.  Remember where your best veins are...for future reference!

The MRI was completed in two parts: first without contrast, then with contrast. You are placed face down on a table, with open spaces for both breasts, arms stretched out above your head.  I was given a small bulb to hold so that if I panicked at any time, I could squeeze it to stop the procedure.  But I was warned if I halted the procedure during the contrast portion, I would have to return another day to complete it ...which I definitely did not want to do!  I wonder...if I had squeezed the bulb, would they have really stopped...or was it just a psychological crutch?  Either way, it felt pretty good to feel I had some measure of control.

MRI machines are extremely loud, so I was given earplugs.  I could still hear the technicians instructions, and the roar of the machine, so I felt they were pretty useless. I went into the "tube" head-first.  The technician gave instructions throughout the 20-30 minute session, with a few pauses throughout to take a big breath before moving on.  To me, it felt longer than 30 minutes.

How did I pass time in the MRI tube?  I found myself singing the children's song, Jesus Loves Me, and quoting verses to myself like "What time I am afraid, I will trust in You."  I prayed for friends who were having medical issues, particularly a little girl who was in critical condition at a hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Job 42:10 says, "And Jehovah turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends." The best way to shake yourself out of a pity party is to stop focusing on yourself, be thankful, and pray for others.  Hey Laney...that's pretty good advice!

By far the hardest part of getting to a breast cancer diagnosis was WAITING. While my MRI was performed in the morning, the radiologist did not begin the process of reading the day's screenings until about 1:30 p.m.   Sadly, there was a lobby full of middle-aged and older women, just like me, so I was warned that getting "the phone call" could take up to 48 hours.

I guess I was expecting hoping for a definitive diagnosis following the MRI, but when the radiologist called at 4:30 the same day...she just said she felt a biopsy was needed, and would be scheduling mine for the next week.  She tried to encourage me with the fact that 80 percent of breast lump biopsies prove to be benign...but in my gut, I already knew mine was not.


Copyright 2015 Laney's Musings