Sonogram and Biopsy

June 7, 2014 -- Sonogram and Biopsy
Chris and I arrive at the radiologist early.  I barely get sit down when they call my name.  Back to the dressing room, hospital gown, open in front.  Moments later, I'm lying on a gurney in the sonogram room.  The technicians begins her task and slathers gobs of gel on the transducer probe, then slowly smears that all over my left breast, taking pictures and fiddling with the keep board and all the while look on the computer screen. All done, but she doesn't wipe me off.  She takes the images to the radiologist.

Within minutes a woman steps in, introduces herself as the radiologist, Erica Berg, M.D..  She is a lovely Chinese woman, who looks Korean to me -- go figure.  Her beauty reminds me of my daughters and I immediately like her gentle yet straight forward manner.

She explains that I do have a mass and that it does look like cancer, but the only way to make sure is with a biopsy.  I'm given the option of having one performed there in the office immediately or go to a hospital for an outpatient procedure.  Chris and I decide that we might as well get it done.

The doctor steps out.  A few moments later, she's back with syringes.  She uses a local anesthetic to numb the breast are, the takes a few biopsies from different angles.

I go back to the dressing room, change into my clothes and meet her and Chris in another exam room, but only for consultation. Dr. Berg tells us that she is reasonably certain that it is cancer.  The biopsy will be sent to a lab and we'll hear in three business days the result.  She adivses us that our next step is to see a breast cancer surgeon and to make an appointment as soon as possible.  The results of the biopsy will be sent to my family doctor and to the surgeon.  "I've already spoken with your family doctor, Emily Faltimier M.D. and asked who she would recommend. I was glad to hear her say Dr. Vargas at the INOVA Breast Cancer Institute.  He is one of my favorites and I strongly recommend him too."  She reminds me that the mass seems to be only 5 to 6 millimeters in size and caught very early.  She had just gone through the process with her mother-in-law in January and assures me its nothing to worry about.

A centimeter is made up of 10 millimeters.  This chart shows different sizes of breast tumors, mine is half the size of the smallest circle, only detectable by mammography.

I leave the office so glad that I kept up with my mammograms.  Without them there is no way I would have ever known that I had this small mass.  I am grateful for the strides that have been made in medicine and technology,  I am a fan of preventative medicine and try to keep up with it in my own life.  I have gratitude in my heart for all the people I know who have keep up the fight to find a cure for breast cancer.  I have learned that we are very very close to a cure, and that things have changed in diagnosis and treatment so much in the last ten years.

Dear Ones --- please keep up with preventative medical practices in your life and, especially, make sure you get your routine mammograms!
Monday, two days later,I called for an appointment to meet with the Cancer Surgeon Dr. Vargas.  An appointment is set for Friday, June 13  12:34 pm.