Is that a lump? Is that a new lump? A different lump? The same lump that was there before? It feels different….I think……maybe……I really can’t tell anymore!
This was me back in early December, when the area around my lumpectomy scar seemed to change shape and I could feel a more pronounced lump than I had before. This is of course any cancer patient's worst nightmare and I am as paranoid as the next person when it comes to it. Well, I had a 3 week vacation planned over Christmas and New Year so I decided that even if it was a cancerous lump, there was nothing much I was going to do till after my holiday, so I booked an appointment for early January and (more or less) forgot about it.
Fast forward to January's appointment. Breast consultant has a good poke around and declares he's sure it's only scar tissue, but sends me for an ultrasound. Radiographer has a good poke around and declares he's sure it's only scar tissue, but (checking if I have insurance?) sends me for an MRI.
The wonderful team at our local hospital work 8am to 8pm every day and I had the last appointment on Friday. I am sure the lovely radiographer was very grateful that I lay perfectly still. If you move during the scan they have to retake the image, and each image takes 4-5 mins, so a scan can last as little as 20 mins for those with the super power of lying still, but double that for those who are fidgety. Despite a desperate urge to cough, an itchy eyebrow and a twitch in my neck, my super powers were out in force and she seemed pretty happy that it was relatively quick.
i'll send them right away she said, your consultant will have them on Monday. By Wednesday morning my patience had run out though the consultant's PA answered almost immediately with the news that the scan as clear!
As ever, I'm grateful to live in a country where medical support is readily available and easy to access and where I'm encouraged to check out anything that's bothering me.
