21/2 years ago, I was told I had Breast cancer.
😢I never liked going to doctors. Never was afraid of them but I have always been good a diagnosing myself. I go in and tell the doctor," I have a sinus infection", and viola the doctor says "you have a sinus infection" the only thing is I can't write a prescription for myself. I cant do surgery on myself but man , I feel like if I tell them the problem , it should cost less.
When I first noticed a small bump in my breast,I knew it was cancer. I am not an alarmist . I am just good at knowing whats wrong with my body. I was about to have my yearly physical and did my self exam in the shower as usual. I felt the bump , it felt like a small lima bean, not a hard lump but it seemed like it was a little under the skin ,but not too far under. A couple of times in the following days I wasn't sure I actually felt anything. Before I called my doctor to schedule my physical , I decided to do my Yearly mammogram first to discuss the results with him at the physical appointment.
Before the mammo, I already assumed the lump/bump was cancer. I also felt like maybe it wouldn't be so bad as I was having mammograms starting at 50 years old as was my doctors recommendation.
I made the appointment and had gotten a call from my half- sister asking about our family health history. I did not know why at the time , I had not told anyone about my concerns. Turned out her eldest daughter had been diagnosed with breast cancer , she was in her 40's. As far as I knew we had no other family history of breast cancer. My father died of prostate cancer, related likely to his smoking. My niece smoked. I never have.
When I went for my physical my doctor told me they had found "something " And he wanted me to go right away to get a biopsy. Never said the word cancer. When I went for the biopsy they said they would do a sonogram, a bilateral sonogram. Which let me know the "something" they had found was likely in both breast.
The center that does the biopsy sends me a letter. No results just a letter and a 40 dollar copay. Not back to my regular doctor quite yet. I make an appointment a few days after with my GP. He is doctor Shoenfeld is a great doctor, very kind and hates to give bad news. He will but he hates it. But he does not give me results he refers me to a surgeon. Right then,I knew I just didnt know if it was bad or BAD. I think he knew he didn't have to say cancer. The surgeon Dr Hodyl,worked at a cancer center so Id' really have to be dense not to have figured out by then it was cancer. She sent me to a mammogram guided biopsy. That test was a bitch. I did not remember not to take advil for a full week before that test and the bruising was outrageous!. Let me just say the do give you a little local anesthesia shot but imagine being squeezed into the machine and having the tech stick needles into your breast 2 in each breast which seemed to take forever. few days ,I had my breast wrapped in an ace bandage,with ice packs. of course those techs just do the test and the biopsies had to be sent out.
I feel like even they have an idea its cancer . I knew. I wasn't telling anyone till I discussed it with my doctor because I did not want to worry anyone.After about a week I went back to Doctor Hodyl.She said I had not one but 2 cancers, a different one in each breast.At least it was stage 1(plus) in one breast and just under stage 1 in the left side. So it was pretty good news. We discussed surgical options and I chose bi-lateral mastectomy. She had mentioned a single mastectomy on my right side I wanted to do whatever was most likely to get ALL the cancer, and have the least chance of recurring. So I went home and told my family the news. I did not feel worried because I have a great GP ,Dr. Shoenfeld,and I trust him . He recommended a great surgeon. She was terrific. After telling my family ,I was off to pre- surgical testing . They couldn't give me an appointment that was more than 10 days before my surgery. The bloodwork, the chest x-ray, the urine sample . Then off to get a EKG . Back to my GP for clearance for my surgery in 4 days! BUT NO, What?
Your blood sugar is outrageous,you are diabetic. WHAT? Well I did it to myself. I wanted to be super hydrated for my surgery and I drank tons of Gatorade. Also I ate tons of fruit and juice. so I had to get my sugar down so I could go through surgery . And believe me it was HIGH 500! I managed to lower it to an acceptable level , by drinking tons of water. having no sugar and going to my doctor every morning to re check my sugar and take insulin. We did it and I was able to have surgery as scheduled . I will talk about the surgery and afterwards another day. I will say this . caught at an early stage, Cancer still sucks.
When I first noticed a small bump in my breast,I knew it was cancer. I am not an alarmist . I am just good at knowing whats wrong with my body. I was about to have my yearly physical and did my self exam in the shower as usual. I felt the bump , it felt like a small lima bean, not a hard lump but it seemed like it was a little under the skin ,but not too far under. A couple of times in the following days I wasn't sure I actually felt anything. Before I called my doctor to schedule my physical , I decided to do my Yearly mammogram first to discuss the results with him at the physical appointment.
Before the mammo, I already assumed the lump/bump was cancer. I also felt like maybe it wouldn't be so bad as I was having mammograms starting at 50 years old as was my doctors recommendation.
I made the appointment and had gotten a call from my half- sister asking about our family health history. I did not know why at the time , I had not told anyone about my concerns. Turned out her eldest daughter had been diagnosed with breast cancer , she was in her 40's. As far as I knew we had no other family history of breast cancer. My father died of prostate cancer, related likely to his smoking. My niece smoked. I never have.
When I went for my physical my doctor told me they had found "something " And he wanted me to go right away to get a biopsy. Never said the word cancer. When I went for the biopsy they said they would do a sonogram, a bilateral sonogram. Which let me know the "something" they had found was likely in both breast.
The center that does the biopsy sends me a letter. No results just a letter and a 40 dollar copay. Not back to my regular doctor quite yet. I make an appointment a few days after with my GP. He is doctor Shoenfeld is a great doctor, very kind and hates to give bad news. He will but he hates it. But he does not give me results he refers me to a surgeon. Right then,I knew I just didnt know if it was bad or BAD. I think he knew he didn't have to say cancer. The surgeon Dr Hodyl,worked at a cancer center so Id' really have to be dense not to have figured out by then it was cancer. She sent me to a mammogram guided biopsy. That test was a bitch. I did not remember not to take advil for a full week before that test and the bruising was outrageous!. Let me just say the do give you a little local anesthesia shot but imagine being squeezed into the machine and having the tech stick needles into your breast 2 in each breast which seemed to take forever. few days ,I had my breast wrapped in an ace bandage,with ice packs. of course those techs just do the test and the biopsies had to be sent out.
I feel like even they have an idea its cancer . I knew. I wasn't telling anyone till I discussed it with my doctor because I did not want to worry anyone.After about a week I went back to Doctor Hodyl.She said I had not one but 2 cancers, a different one in each breast.At least it was stage 1(plus) in one breast and just under stage 1 in the left side. So it was pretty good news. We discussed surgical options and I chose bi-lateral mastectomy. She had mentioned a single mastectomy on my right side I wanted to do whatever was most likely to get ALL the cancer, and have the least chance of recurring. So I went home and told my family the news. I did not feel worried because I have a great GP ,Dr. Shoenfeld,and I trust him . He recommended a great surgeon. She was terrific. After telling my family ,I was off to pre- surgical testing . They couldn't give me an appointment that was more than 10 days before my surgery. The bloodwork, the chest x-ray, the urine sample . Then off to get a EKG . Back to my GP for clearance for my surgery in 4 days! BUT NO, What?
Your blood sugar is outrageous,you are diabetic. WHAT? Well I did it to myself. I wanted to be super hydrated for my surgery and I drank tons of Gatorade. Also I ate tons of fruit and juice. so I had to get my sugar down so I could go through surgery . And believe me it was HIGH 500! I managed to lower it to an acceptable level , by drinking tons of water. having no sugar and going to my doctor every morning to re check my sugar and take insulin. We did it and I was able to have surgery as scheduled . I will talk about the surgery and afterwards another day. I will say this . caught at an early stage, Cancer still sucks.
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