*hugs* I hope you get good news soon.

One reason I like my GP is that he does answer questions and explain stuff (OK, sometimes the answer is "I won't know until I get the results", but that's fair enough).

(Oh, and some us prefer small-breasted women and don't understand why so much of the press goes for big ones. And some of us also don't care much either way and find that all women we love are beautiful whatever their shape.)

A few years ago I had an abnormal mammogram. it went as far as biopsy and turned out to be a calcium deposit. Yes they laughed I'm calcium rich which will serve my bones well as I age. It's a scary process because of the waiting and unknowns. However now the joke is I'm tagged and released back into the wild because when they did the biopsy they left a small marker that's visable on mammograms to watch the area (this was before they knew it was my dairy fetish). For a bit I had to get both sonograms and mammograms every six months but now on just annual mammograms again. Tho I have to warn them about the tag.

Best wishes from someone who went through it too.

I saw a status message on (that other site) a few days ago and wondered. Very, very glad to hear that things look good.

(Ever notice how the words 'positive' and 'negative' make no sense when talking about medical matters? i.e. Nothing can make one feel more positive than a negative test...stupid language.)

A friend of mine just went through this. Abnormal. Come back, more scans. Turns out that she has a small area of calcification that has a low chance of becoming cancerous (4% or so).

She's having surgery this Friday to have the cells removed.

I've got my fingers crossed that everything is fine for you!

mwah!

I honestly think that an occasional scare is a good thing (provided, of course, that the result is negative).

I had a very close auntie who was diagnosed with cancer of the uterus. When it was discovered, it was at such an advanced stage that the cancer had actually grown out to the vagina, and the doctor was able to touch it with her fingers, just like that.

It was unfortunate, that the good auntie continued with her old lifestyle (of breathing in second-hand smoke and long hours at mahjong games)after the chemotherapy, with no rest. She died soon after the diagnosis.

This is not meant to scare you, but to remind ourselves that, my friend, we ought to love ourselves even more.

*hugs*

I shall keep you in my thoughts, my dear.

And hugs from Long Island -- real ones when I get a chance to give them to you in person

I had an abnormal result 6 months ago, but had just been put on Plavix for my artery bypass, so was not a biopsy candidate at that time - I went to a breast surgeon, who ordered an MRI, and decided it could wait 6 months I'm going back for MRI/sonogram tomorrow and surgeon again later this month. If the answer is biopsy ths time, I can now go off the Plavix for a week if necessary.

Keeping you in my thoughts.

Scary, along with lumps (that are now gone, and paps that need repeating) I'm glad your results are unofficially clear. Cancer is a scary thing. see you at FilKONtario

Wow, that's scary. Waiting for results after an abnormal test of any kind is scary, and they really should do more to soothe (and speed things up) than they do. I'm glad it turned out to be ok.

I'm so glad you're ok! And thanks for sharing the details. I have to have my first one in 2 years and I'm dreading the procedure.

Again, glad everything is alright!

Jo

I"m so glad to hear (read?) your good news. Did you see the dancing snowmen I sent you for your birthday? They're REALLY dancing, now!

I would put a lot of faith in the radiologist's unofficial comment. You are going to be OK.

Mine was cancerous, but caught very early and small. In one month, it will be five years since the diagnosis, and I have only three more months of daily reminders when I take my medication.

After that, I have to stop blaming my forgetfulness on the medication. That has been so handy (though it is not on the list of possible side-effects).

That's such a scary thing to go through. I'm glad to hear it sounds fine. The women in my family tend to be 'lumpy,' apparently: my grandmother, mother, and sister have all had to have biopsies on suspicious lumps, but all have turned out to be benign. I hope that if (when?) I have to go through the same thing it will make it a little less stressful, even though the chance remains that the results could be different for me.

Thanks for posting explanations and details, so other folks are less spooked about what to expect. I think if they really want women to come in to be screened, the medical community could do a whole lot better job informing women what to expect, and as you noted, what's going on at the time.

I'm glad you're OK -- that's a very scary thing to go through. I'm going to put a link to it in my LJ, in part because, with breast cancer on both sides of their family tree, it's something that both my daughters will need to know about.

My Mom is still going strong, 55 years after her successful surgery for breast cancer.

See you at FKO; here's hoping you've had official word by then so you can go through the con with one less thing to worry about.

Just *hugs*!

BTW, bardling sent me the fish bookmark you made. It is so WONDERFUL, I love it!

I hope it's as not-serious as it sounds. Good luck!

Medical imaging technicians seem to be a particularly noncommunicative lot. Many of them aren't "people persons," even though that should be part of the job description. Or maybe they start out that way, but the constant emphasis on making sure that these repeated, standardized, tissue-slice *images* turn out "clearly legible" desensitizes them to a degree, and makes them perceive the endless parade of people getting their innards scanned as less than human. In a way, I think their mental state is like that of some professional photographers I've known; even though they know every trick in the book to get adults and children to sit up straight and smile and look at the birdie, their photo subjects are just one more aspect of their job rather than actual people they might be called upon to actually care about.

Sorry if this is TMI, but your story reminds me of the time I had to go in and have an ultrasound on a tiny round abnormality beside one of my testes. (If you think that goop feels cold on one's *breasts*...) The imaging techs were both female, and I could tell that they were being as professional and brusque as possible, presumably because they're used to men being acutely uncomfortable with that kind of procedure, especially when it's being done by young women. So I started cracking jokes with them about checking the property values along my epididymis (one of the few times I've ever had occasion to use that word) and stuff like that. Eventually I cracked their shell and got them smiling and laughing, the best was made of an awkward situation, and the abnormality turned out to be a more-or-less harmless spermatocoel. But it's a shame that so many people feel they have to suffer anxiety and discomfort in silence during imaging procedures with so little comfort or human feeling from technicians.

Hoping for the "all clear" in your final diagnosis, and looking forward to seeing you at FKO if all works out as I hope with my transportation, birth certificate, etc.

--Randy

Debbie, I'm so glad that the report seems to be good news.

*hugs*

See you soon!

I'm truly happy for you, is great that your tests went well, and that you are ok, I can imagine your mind during the days after that false positive and the relieve you are feeling now.

I'm also thankful for the way you share this information, is really important for people to really check themselves and also the fact that just 'cause something happen is not always going to be cancer :D.

Hugs!!! Be well and take care, Monica :)

Yes, it's a frustrating, frightening experience. I've been through it quite a few times. Found a lump at the age of 36, had to go through lots of tests with lots of questions but lots of silence and lots of that squishing of the boobs and that yucky cold goop. Turned out to be benign, but had it removed anyway. So since that time I have my boobs squished and poked and prodded every year, sometimes twice a year (I'm one of those lucky gals with big dense babies that are just perfect markers for cancer).

As agonizing as it is, my understanding is that the radiologist is actually not supposed to say anything to the patient; they can get into a lot of trouble if they make any comments before the doctor sees the results. That just seems to be the protocol. Though I know some radiologists feel compelled to say something, since they see the fear in the faces of patients every day. It was very kind of that radiologist to speak to you – I was actually very surprised that you got an answer. Glad to know that it's good news.

-- patricia

Thank you for sharing, Debbie, and I join everyone in hoping for, and believing the best. You're in my thoughts & prayers.

Hugs both virtual and impending-actual heading your way. *smiles*

Oh, dear. You have every right to be freaking out all over the place... and I'm very glad things seem to be about to turn out OK.

This kinda hits home for me; I myself am a thyroid cancer survivor, and two of the ladies I jam with are breast cancer survivors, and we're all still running around playing our hearts out... I'd be glad to point you at them if you like. (But I won't blame you if you just want to leave all thoughts of it behind, too!) I also have it on good, if somewhat more private, authority that Health Canada is very good at dealing with such things.

May you get to share the joy of an official "all clear" with those at FKO... but even if you don't have that to take with you, don't forget that all us filkers want to help however we can.

*hugs offered* Be excellent to yourself.

Isn't it scary? Mammos are excruciating to me, but my mom has no discomfort.

I found an oddity a few years ago that led to a needle biopsy. Gah! Happily, it was judged to be a benign cyst, but still... It was a alrge lump with other side-symptoms. *shudder* We are so bombarded in the media by cancer stats that a mosquito bite on the breast feels like being under a guillotine!

Debbie, thanks for your brave and helpful post! I've been thru this too, more than once, and i cannot understand why doctors and technicians can't come up with a more humane way to let women know their findings, instead of sending them home to wait and worry and stress. You're absolutely right--we have to get these things checked out--but the anxiety is enough to make a woman sick. Unfortunately, I've read that heart disease actually kills more women than breast cancer, but stories in the media have turned this into a huge fear for most of us-which takes our attention off of our hearts, and that's important, too.

I had a male relative with BC, so you're right about that too. Thanks for spreading the word. You may have saved some lives.
blessings,
L.