Extra time at the Breast Clinic
I had been to two breast clinics in the past, both times a consultant felt the lump, I had an ultrasound and I was able to go home quickly because it was only a cyst, the first time was in about 2001 and the second in about 2008.
On December 20th they told me to leave 3 hours for the Clinic. The consultant, Shelley (who was lovely) had a feel of the lump, which incidentally feels quite different to how the cysts had felt. Steff (who lives in my garden flat downstairs) and I waited for my first call up. I had 4 mammograms, two on each side and went back to watching goldfish with Steff. They called me again, I was expecting an ultrasound but I was back in the Mammogram suite (which made me think something was wrong) where they took another 4 of the left side, Christine the mammogram lady mentioned calcification and patterns. Back in the waiting room Steff and I googled calcification, it didn't seem too bad; it is common in over 50s and uncommonly it can indicate pre-cancerous changes in certain patterns.
We waited and waited, Steff was shattered from her Christmas party the night before but we managed to work out that pretty much the whole room full of people from 1000hrs had gone by just after lunch, even the consultant waved goodbye and signed off for Christmas while we sat there. She had said that I would see her again if I needed a biopsy so I felt quite comforted that I didn't.
Eventually I went in for my ultrasound and a student radiographer had a look first but then they didn't hand over to the other radiographer, they called in a consultant radiographer and immediately she told me I would need a Core Biopsy. The breast clinic leaflet had mentioned this at the bottom of the page as an "occasionally we do this" type of comment.
So I was prepped and given a local and they dug in to my Left Boob, inserted a tube, posted in a thing which sounded like a stapler which gouged out a few biopsy samples and then inserted a titanium clip into the space where the samples had been. This whole thing sounded vile but I kept my eyes firmly shut, there was much talk about blood and that I wouldn't stop bleeding, between poor Steff who was stuck on the other side of the curtain and the lovely Staff I managed to find some laughs.
2 final mammograms later and 5 hours after arriving they told me results would be on 2nd Jan, Happy Christmas, see you in the New Year!!
On December 20th they told me to leave 3 hours for the Clinic. The consultant, Shelley (who was lovely) had a feel of the lump, which incidentally feels quite different to how the cysts had felt. Steff (who lives in my garden flat downstairs) and I waited for my first call up. I had 4 mammograms, two on each side and went back to watching goldfish with Steff. They called me again, I was expecting an ultrasound but I was back in the Mammogram suite (which made me think something was wrong) where they took another 4 of the left side, Christine the mammogram lady mentioned calcification and patterns. Back in the waiting room Steff and I googled calcification, it didn't seem too bad; it is common in over 50s and uncommonly it can indicate pre-cancerous changes in certain patterns.
We waited and waited, Steff was shattered from her Christmas party the night before but we managed to work out that pretty much the whole room full of people from 1000hrs had gone by just after lunch, even the consultant waved goodbye and signed off for Christmas while we sat there. She had said that I would see her again if I needed a biopsy so I felt quite comforted that I didn't.
Eventually I went in for my ultrasound and a student radiographer had a look first but then they didn't hand over to the other radiographer, they called in a consultant radiographer and immediately she told me I would need a Core Biopsy. The breast clinic leaflet had mentioned this at the bottom of the page as an "occasionally we do this" type of comment.
So I was prepped and given a local and they dug in to my Left Boob, inserted a tube, posted in a thing which sounded like a stapler which gouged out a few biopsy samples and then inserted a titanium clip into the space where the samples had been. This whole thing sounded vile but I kept my eyes firmly shut, there was much talk about blood and that I wouldn't stop bleeding, between poor Steff who was stuck on the other side of the curtain and the lovely Staff I managed to find some laughs.
2 final mammograms later and 5 hours after arriving they told me results would be on 2nd Jan, Happy Christmas, see you in the New Year!!
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