Just over two years ago, I found a lump in my breast. It wasn't the first lump I had found, so I did what I knew I was supposed to do, I waited out my menstrual cycle, to see if it went away and when it didn't, I saw my GP who referred me for an ultrasound.
The ultrasound came back with some suspicion and I was then referred for a biopsy. The biopsy came back as a benign mass, but my doctor said that this type of benign mass had potential to become malignant at a later stage, so the plan was that we will monitor it closely.
I was to have biannual ultrasound scans and to let my doctor know if I noticed any changes in the interim.
A few weeks ago, I started to notice pain in the same area. The lump had never been painful before. It was painful enough at times that an accidental brush from my arm would send a chinese-burn feeling through my body.
I waited out my cycle again and while the pain was more intense at some stages, it is still there all the time. So I mentioned it to my GP and he thought it would be best to go for another ultrasound.
It was a new sonography clinic that I had never been to before, but I have had enough of these scans in the past, to know the drill.
But this sonographer was different. Usually they don't tell you much and they will just send a report off to your doctor after all of the images have been reviewed.
Yet, this sonographer told me "this is nothing nasty, it's never going to be nasty, honestly I wouldn't worry about having it scanned anymore. The pain is just your cycle, which makes dense breast tissue painful at times".
I felt like I had wasted everyone's time. Maybe I shouldn't worry about returning to my GP for results I thought, but thankfully I'm too strong willed to let one sonographer get the better of me, especially after so many people in the past had already advised me to be diligent with changes to this lump.
My doctor wasn't convinced by this report and decided it was time for me to get a mammogram. I hadn't had a mammogram before, so it was a totally new experience.
It wasn't the most comfortable experience, but it was over fast. The radiographer was so lovely, she talked me through everything and said that she would take four images and that once she had them, she would go ask a doctor to take a look incase they wanted to take some more.
Both of my breasts were squished and manipulated to get the four views that they needed and then I sat wrapped in the paper gown, hopeful that they could see all they needed.
My radiographer returned and asked if I'd be okay with their senior sonographer performing an ultrasound of his own. I agreed and I was taken through to the next room to have another ultrasound. It took twice as long as the ultrasound I'd had only days before and he used a few different sized transducers to get the image that he wanted. He asked if it were painful where he was pressing the transducer and it was, he nodded as he froze the image in that spot.
I returned home, confident that I would book an appointment with my GP next week and get the all clear, but only an hour or so later, I received a call from the receptionist at my GP clinic. She told me that the doctor received some results from the radiologist and wanted to see me right away. In shock all I could say was; "is this bad? I have Kaiden in the bath!"
In a very nervous and jittery manner, I made my way to the doctor, and took a seat. The doctor was with another patient, so it was about a twenty minute wait before he called me in. It was hard to not think the worst in that time. I'd never been called back right after an appointment to see the doctor on the same day. This must be bad, was all I could think.
Finally my name was called and with jelly legs, I walked to my doctors office.
"Thanks for coming in such short notice" he started. "Look, the radiologist has called me himself". Trying to stay composed, I sat in silence, listening carefully to everything my doctor said.
He told me that I have a new lesion, that is amongst my other lump, I hadn't even noticed it.
He told me it was highly suspicious and then the words everyone dreads to hear followed "this could be cancer". A single tear fell from my eye and it was hard to listen after that, but I tried so hard to concentrate on what I have to do next. No one, not one doctor had ever used the C word with me before. I tried hard to focus but it's foggy to recall.
He handed me two referrals and the report from the radiologist. "Get the biopsy first and make an appointment with the specialist for as soon as possible, make sure they understand it's urgent, I have tried to phone them myself but they're already closed". He also asked me to book a phone appointment with him the following day, so he could check in and be sure I got the appointments that I needed.
The next morning I was on the phone the moment that the clinic's opened.
I got an appointment for biopsy the following day and a specialist appointment the next week.
My doctor was happy with this when he called me later that day.
So yesterday, I went for my biopsy. I was still traumatised from the last one I had two years ago. But thankfully, this time it wasn't so awful, I almost didn't feel anything. By ultrasound guide, two samples were collected. There was almost no blood and so far, almost no bruise.
It will take two to three business days for a result to return. My GP is on the lookout to phone me when the result makes it to his inbox and my fingers are crossed they make it in time for my specialist appointment.
I'm staying positive, that this is just another scare, but the real moral to this story is don't let one person's opinion change your mind when your gut says otherwise.
Like the sonographer I saw last week, he told me I have nothing to worry about, paid off my pain as if he knew what having a menstrual cycle was like and told me to not worry about future scans. If I had listened.. this new lump would never have been investigated and if it is nasty, it could have gone unnoticed until much later.
Always follow your gut feeling and remember that you know your body better than anyone.
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