Feeling Just a Little Sore........Ouch

Anesthesia's starting to wear off and my boobs are starting to throb with pain. *insert miserable moan here*

Today I went to have biopsies done to both breasts. My appointment was at 8:00 and I left the doctor's at around 11:00.

First thing that was worked on was my right breast. An ultrasound was done to locate the abnormal tissue. They took a snapshot of it and then the doctor was called in to perform a procedure called a FNA - fine needle aspiration. He applied a local anesthestic and inserted the needle. On the monitor I could see the needle moving around, trying to get to that affected tissue. Once there he collected the matter in the syringe. I heard him say something about it being a superficial cyst. They showed me the syringe that contained a solution mixed with the liquid they sucked out. It looked slightly murky but I couldn't really see what was floating around in it.

After that was done I went into another room to have my left breast worked on. A stereotactic biopsy was done with me laying face down on a table. There's a hole in the table to put your breast through. They use the paddles to flatten your breast so that they can find the area where the suspicious calcium deposits are. They take x-rays until they pinpoint the exact area of extraction. Once that was found they were all set to start so they called for the doctor. Unfortunately, he had just started an ultrasound biopsy on another patient so I had to wait for 10-15 minutes. The paddles were loosened a little and I just stayed there face down. I felt tired so I just wanted to rest. The nurse was a little upset that the doctor was snatched away but she said that he's so good that everyone grabs his service whenever they can.

Soon the doctor was called in and we were ready to proceed. The paddles were retightened and a few more x-rays were taken just to confirm the position. Everyone was great in prepping me and explaining the procedure. The applied a local anesthetic and inserted a hollow needle that housed a cutter inside. Although I couldn't watch it 'live' on the monitor like I did the ultrasound I did look at the last few snapshots they took which was still on the monitor.

They told me about the sounds I would hear so I wouldn't be alarmed when I first heard them. The whirring sound I heard was the cutter cutting a thin strip sample. No more than two inches long and maybe less than 1/32 thin. The sample would get vacuumed out to the technician waiting to put it on the petrie dish. Another slice was cut in a different position (think 12 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 4 o'clock. etc. positions. Then I was warned that I would hear a snap. That would be the needle advancing even deeper. So the doctor counted 1-2-3, then I heard a loud snap. Even though I was warned I still jumped ever so slightly. But I know they noticed.

After about five samples I suddenly started crying. I don't know why I did. Perhaps the realization of possibly having only six months to live. But that thought didn't enter my mind then. Really. Maybe I was tired. The table was raised high enough for them to work on me so the doctor's face was literally inches away from mine. He ocassionally peeked up to see how I was doing so he eventually saw me crying. I just told them that I was scared. I felt so bad that I cut their sample extraction in half. They're supposed to take at least 12 strips but only ended up with six. But they said that the samples were so good that it wasn't necessary anyway to get more. So we stopped. The doctor left while I was still facing down. He patted my shoulder and told me I did good before he left the room. So I was left there with the nurse and the technician.

If you ever go through anything traumatic make sure you have female nurses because I truly believe that mother instincts come out and you get coddled and told that you did good and that the whole nasty thing was over. During the whole time on the table these ladies were very comforting. I'd trust my life with them. They treated me like I was their child yet they were so professional. They rubbed my back and really comforted me and even though it sounded like I was babied then so what. I wanted it and they knew how to give it without a second thought.

Anyway, it wasn't over yet. I had to retake a mammogram to check on the progress. While I had the stereotactic done they inserted a tiny metal clip in the area of the extraction. So when I looked at the x-ray after the mammogram I could see the tiny metal clip in my breast. The technician also put the petrie dish that contained my sample strips under the mammogram machine and x-rayed those. I could see those tiny little dots on each strip. Tinier than grains of sand. If anything bad comes out of this I'm glad that it was caught when those dots were that tiny.

I'm still worried though. I won't know anything until Monday since it takes two days for my doctor to get the results. I can worry my ass off but it definitely won't change the results.

After the mammogram was done I went back into the room that had the stereotactic machine and sat with nurse who put my dressing on and explained the post-procedure instructions. When I went to change back to my street clothes she went to get my doctor's note and brought back three roses for me. I gave her a hug and she wished me luck. As I walked out the door the technician was coming in. I hugged her too. They're such good people.

Even though I was strictly warned by the nurse, I went to Pearlridge, not to shop, but just to pick up lunch, then go home. I was sore, tired and hungry, and I just wanted to go home. Once home I let Gracie in the house and together we hung out and watched taped shows before falling asleep.