Change of Plans....again

My biopsy appt. got pushed back to 1:30, which is fine with me. As long as I'm getting it done this week, I am happy. I have been doing a lot of thinking about what oncologist/office to go to. Mayo would probably be a good place to go, but I have no idea who the oncologist is that I'd be seeing. They didn't even give me his/her name. The Mayo Clinic is also all the way in Scottsdale. If my cancer ends up coming back, that would mean a lot of trips back and forth to Scottsdale. I have kept thinking about the one oncologist who saw me when I was in the hospital last year. Dr. Obenchain came in to check on me when my regular oncologist wasn't able to see me. I liked her immediately and felt very comfortable with her. When Curt and I were talking with Dr. Schuster yesterday, Curt asked him his opinion of Mayo. Dr. Schuster's reply was quite comical...."You can dress up a pig, but it's still a pig."!! How right he is. I feel more confident going to a dr that I already know. I already know that I like her. Going to Mayo isn't going to guarantee that I will automatically feel comfortable and "click" with the dr there. So, my appt with Mayo is cancelled and I am seeing Dr. Obenchain on Sept 11 th. I am happy and at peace with this decision....finally :)

Update

I saw Dr. Schuster today. He did an ultrasound and said that he is about 95% sure that the cyst is benign. Anyone else, he would've said 99%. But for me, and my history/family history, you never know. I'm scheduled for a biopsy w/a radiologist on Thursday at 9am. Dr. Schuster said the cyst is really small (only 1/2 cm) and he doesn't want to risk the chance of missing it during a biopsy. So the radiologist will do an ultrasound-guided biopsy. Curt asked Dr. Schuster what they look for to determine whether it's cancer or not. He explained that, typically, cancer is taller than it is wide (my "cyst" is 0.5 cm wide, and 0.3 cm taller), it creates "shadowing" in the ultrasound, and that you can usually see finger-like things coming from it. The only concerning thing about mine is that it isn't round like most cysts. It is irregular in shape. I will be glad to know FOR SURE what we are dealing with. I do feel a little more at ease since talking to Dr. Schuster but won't be resting easy until they tell me that they are 100% sure that it is benign.

Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease

My new appt. with Dr. Schuster is on Monday (Aug. 24th) at 2:15pm!!

P.O.'d

Dr. Schuster called.

He wants me to come in so he can do his own ultrasound and also do a biopsy if needed. I was relieved until he transferred me to his medical assistant to set up my appt. Turns out, Dr. Schuster will be gone for a couple of weeks, so the soonest he can see me is Sept 14th!!!!

Are you kidding me???

I am NOT waiting until the 14th.

My nerves are shot enough as it is. I cannot wait almost 4 weeks just to have a biopsy done. Curt is going to call Dr. Schuster's office to see if one of his associates could see me sooner, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm making him call because I do not want to lose it on the phone. After finding out when my appt. was supposed to be, I could not hold back the tears. I am trying to quickly get my records and films to Mayo so that if there is a cancellation, they will be able to get me in sooner than the 31st.

I think that is my best option right now.

Waiting...Waiting...Waiting...

I called Dr. Schuster's (surgeon) office this morning to give them a heads up on what was going on. He, of course, was out of the office today, so I will hopefully be able to talk to him tomorrow (Wed).

Today I also made the decision to call the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale for an appt. They have a breast clinic and are up to date on the latest and greatest, so I figure that is a good place for me to go. If I lived in UT, I would most definitely go to Huntsman. I feel confident about my decision but just wished I didn't have to wait until the 31st to get in! In the meantime, I will still see Dr. Schuster while I'm getting all of my films and records ready to take to Mayo.

I Kinda Had a Feeling...

Last week, when I had my mammogram and ultrasound, I sorta had a feeling that they spotted something. The tech did my mammo on both the R and L sides and showed me that the dr. had ordered an ultrasound "if indicated"....meaning, if needed. So I was thinking, SWEET!! I could get outta here sooner than I had thought.

Well, after she came back in the room from checking w/the Radiologist to see if she had enough pictures, she informed me that he had wanted her to take some more images of my L breast. I began wondering....trying not to jump the gun and get all worked up. It was when she came back into the room the second time, after once again checking w/the Radiologist, that she informed me that they would go ahead with the ultrasound. I don't know if it's the nurse in me or the paranoid skeptic that I tend to be, but I immediately saw red flags. I haven't let any of this consume my thoughts.

That is....until today.

Early this evening, my oncologist called me. I knew right away, as soon as I saw the caller ID, that they were going to tell me my results weren't normal. He said that the ultrasound showed something irregular, a seemingly benign cyst, on my L breast (which is the side that the cancer was on). He said an aspiration of the cyst was recommended, but he would fax this report to my surgeon, Dr. Schuster, to get his opinion on what should be done. I will have to wait and see what Dr. Schuster recommends, but I will most definitely insist on a biopsy. It might turn out to be nothing (I hope and pray!), but I can't help but wonder. I never had cysts in my breasts before. Ovaries, yes. Breasts, no.

So, I will do my best to remain calm until I know for sure what is going on. My mind is racing and all sorts of thoughts consume me at this point, but it would just come across as jibberish if I try to type it out. Hopefully this waiting game won't be long and drawn out so that we can move past this and get on with our lives once again.

Quick Update

I'm about to head out the door to get my breast ultrasound and mammogram in a few minutes, so this will be short. I see my oncologist next month for my check up and he wanted me to have these scans done prior to. I also have to have a breast MRI but that has to be scheduled on certain days of your "cycle". All is going well with my health and I am so grateful!! The only snag has been my decision to come off of my Zoloft, which doesn't make for a nice mom or wife! Long story short, I found out by my pharmacist that anti-depressants have been shown to DECREASE the effectiveness of Tamoxifen. Tamoxifen is what I have to take for another 4 years in hopes to prevent my cancer from coming back. I made the decision to NOT take the risk and to try to deal with the depression/anxiety on my own (with a whole lotta praying for help). What concerns me is that my oncologist wasn't the one who informed me of this drug interaction! When I found this news out, I immediately called my friend Elizabeth to let her know. She goes to the same oncologist and DID NOT know about this either. How many women out there are taking medication that is possibly putting them at risk of their cancer returning and they don't even know it??!!! So if you're reading this and you know someone who takes Tamoxifen... SPREAD THE WORD!!!