Before my Wide local excision surgery (aka lumpectomy), my surgeon wanted me to have an MRI. This was just to check the position of blood vessels etc and ensure there were no other areas of concern in my left breast.
For the MRI I had to lie on my front with my breasts in gaps in the bed, and enter the tube feet first. They stuck a cod liver oil capsule on my left breast as a marker- high tech NHS equipment! It was really uncomfortable - the noise the machine made sounded like the worlds worst prog rock band tuning up with horrible feedback. I had ear defenders but still… and the position which started out uncomfortable by the end was painful, as my breastbone became bruised laying on such a hard surface for an hour. I later discovered I have a rare difference to my chest shape called pectus carinatum, which means my sternum isn’t flat but more shaped like the keel of a boat. Thus put painful pressure as my entire weight was on the middle ridge of my breast bone - ouch!
But it was just as well they ordered the MRI: when they looked at the right side they noticed something concerning that hadn’t shown up in my initial mammogram. So my surgery was cancelled while they investigated. I found this a little worrying but my surgeon wasn’t happy to operate until he was 100% sure he was doing everything he needed to do. In a way I welcomed the time to get my head round it - the numb optimism was passing and I was beginning to realise this cancer thing meant business.
A biopsy of my other breast revealed a small tumour of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ, DCIS. Although technically a precancer, they were more concerned as my body was already producing cancers on the left side. My surgeon’s instincts were that the position of the DCIS meant a healthy margin would be hard to achieve, so he should do a mastectomy, but he wasn’t comfortable doing surgery on the basis of a hunch. So another biopsy was ordered, this time guided by MRI.
The second MRI scared me much more than the first and I couldn’t imagine how they were going to do the biopsy. But in the end it was straightforward. Thus time my breast was placed in a sort of cage and squished, a bit like a mammogram, only nowhere near so vicious. Once again I went in feet first, on my front, but this time the radiologist plotted on the computer where the concerning area was. Then I was wheeled out, a numbing injection placed in my breast, a larger numbing injection to go deep into the breast (I had my eyes shut but the prodding felt deep) and then a robot took a thin sliver of breast tissue out, I imagine like some sort of drill but I couldn’t feel anything and I kept my eyes closed.
A week or so later, I had the results: as well as a 6mm DCIS I had a 15mm area of LCIS - another precancer, this time not well understood. But as both areas were distinct - and the DCIS not as close to the armpit as originally feared, the multi disciplinary team recommended bilateral WLEs. I was told I had an 80% chance of success and I felt those were good odds.
