Tests begin

Friday, March 23, 2012

Kevin went with me to University of Chicago for my first tests.

The mammogram tech said there is nothing on the mammogram, then I told her “come feel it” and we laughed. Oh and she loved my purse! The second stranger to touch my “girls” (as she called them) this week. She contacted Dr. Sennet, a radiologists to do an ultrasound of the breast, so on I moved to another room for another test.

At first Dr. Sennet could not see anything either, then she found the spot and began focusing the imaging on that area. It became tender quickly, but at least they could see “it”.

Dr. Sennet told me that there is only one type of cancer that presents itself this way and that it was probably a fibroid, but I should see a breast surgeon for a fine needle aspiration. That doesn’t sound so bad does it? It’s fine needle right?

The first breast surgeon appointment available was not until April 10th, and so the wait begins.

Called my daughter, Jaclyn in Arizona and told her the news. She will come home over Easter to be with me and wants to learn what to feel for when doing a breast exam. She became the fourth to touch my breast. So funny. I feel like I did when I was pregnant and everyone wanted to touch your tummy. Thank goodness its high enough on my breast to be more of a clinical exam than anything else 🙂

Grace Embraced: In the kind, caring staff I came in contact with.

The First Step

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Saw Dr. Culbertson for my appointment. She gave me a breast exam and said, it’s most likely a fibroid, but let’s get a diagnostic mammogram and if they don’t see anything they will do an ultrasound. She suggested I have the mammogram done at the University of Chicago Hospital and I agreed. I took the first available appointment for the coming Friday.

Grace Embraced:  Dr. Culbertson recognizing the need for more testing, for it to be completed quickly and to be performed at the U of C Breast Center.

Grace embraced me through a lump

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

I discovered a lump in my left breast while doing a breast exam in the shower.
For a moment life paused…

It took my breath away, my mind began to race.
How long has it been there? How did I miss it? I remember the last time I did a breast exam was in December after watching “Five” with my daughter. I think the Lord wanted me to watch that movie…about five women each individually fighting breast cancer. Well it worked and if I had not watched the movie and did a breast exam in December, I may be wondering today how many months or years it has been there.

I shared my lump discovery with my husband that night, realizing that timing is everything and grace fills my life.
God had provided my husband, Kevin with two job offering last December. One job in Glenwood Springs Co, where he and I would have to live apart for 6 months while I sold a house and finished out the school year at my office. And one opportunity at the University of Chicago Hospitals. There were so many reason why we wanted to move to Colorado…the fresh air of the mountains, the love of two of my sisters and their families, the dream we have talked about for our 27 year marriage. But something said, it’s not time….or more accurately, some one said it.

The reality of what I am about to experience would have been eternally harder with him 1,100 miles away.

I pushed the thought out of my head and tried to sleep, because as divine grace was on my side, I had a OB/GYN appointment in the morning about another matter.

Although Dr. Culbertson has a specialization and doesn’t practice general GYN any longer, I was reassured that I could still have her look at the lump.

I leaned over to kiss my husband good-night and told him that I knew it was cancer, but he was encouraging that it will be something else.

I did not sleep much that night.

Grace embraced: The fact that Kevin was laying next to me and I knew I would be safe.