The Phone call that changed my life

January 4, 2011

This is the day I was expecting the results from a breast biopsy. Here is how the phone call went that has since changed my life.

Me: Hello Dr Wertz
Dr: Yes
Me: I am returning your phone call about my test results.
Dr: Well the biopsy came back as cancer. Do you have any family history?
Me: No, so what happens now?
Dr: Do you know any surgeons?
Me: No, Can you recommend one?
Dr: No I don't recommend surgeons, It wouldn't be fair to send all my patients to a few surgeons. Who ordered the biopsy?
Me: My Ob's office.
Dr: I would call them for a recommendation.
Me: What am I going to have done?
Dr: Well the surgeon will look at the results and go over your options, either a lumpectomy or a mastectomy.

This was about 6 months ago and that is what I remember.

Rewind to April 2010.
I go into my OB's office for a routine visit. The doctor found a lump on my right breast. He tells me it should go away, but if it doesn't to come back. Well I dragged my feet and life got in the way. My husband Jim kept getting on me to go back. He would say have you called the doctor?

December 2010

I call the OB office to set up an appointment. They are able to get in right away. I see the nurse practitioner. She agrees the lump is still there. It is about the same size and in the same location as before. She wants to run some tests to see what is going on. I am scheduled for my first mammogram at 34 followed by a sonogram.

I go for the mammogram and sonogram. The sonogram tech finds a second lump. It was not detectable from the outside.

The doctor's office calls me back and they could not get enough information from the 2 tests. Now they want to do a biopsy.

I go in for the biopsy. I am told I will have my results on Jan 4.

That is the history in a nut shell.

So after I get off the phone with the Dr, I call my mom. She doesn't have good service. I call the OB's office. At this point it is late in the day and they can't help me. I have to wait until the next day to get any information. I call Jim. I text Lisa. I tell my mom. She agrees to tell my family. I call Sue, she agrees to tell the family. At this point I have so little information. All I know I have a lump that turned out to cancerous. I don't know what stage it was, I don't know if I have to go through chemo or radiation. I don't know anything.

I want to talk about this experience, but want to break it up. To Be continued....