I found a lump in my right breast a couple of months ago. At first, I pretty much did the "watch and wait" approach, waiting to see if it would go away as suddenly as it had appeared. Although I knew it was most likely scar tissue, the concern was that it was new. When I finally had my primary care doctor examine me, she agreed that it was most likely scar tissue but sent me for an ultrasound, just to be safe. The ultrasound radiologist also agreed about it most likely being scar tissue but wanted to biopsy to make sure. However, the lump was too close to my breast implant to conduct a needle biopsy. So then I was off to a breast surgeon to discuss an excisional biopsy.
It was a simple and relatively easy plan. Use my original mastectomy scar line to open up and excise the lump. A little hurry up and wait for surgery but 10 days later I was in the OR. Everything looked good, apparently, and the surgery was considered a success. So it was a complete and total blindside to sit in an exam room for a one week follow up and hear that yes, the mass had been scar tissue but cancer cells appeared on the outside area of the mass. I was truly shocked.
Referral to the breast oncology surgeon for further surgery as the margins were not clean. Trying to get schedules to align is a monumental task. But soon I sat in this new surgeon's office to learn about my plan: breast MRI, medical breast oncologist for drugs, wide local excision of the specific area on my breast, and radiation. I was amazed at how deep I was in.
Mountain or mole hill? It felt like Mt. Everest to me.
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