I sympathize. I had my first ever pap smear done yesterday. The doctor who was generally very nice and professional kinda laughed at me when I twitched when she touched me with a finger–not even the speculum. Look, I startle easily, and we just finished discussing my lack of sex life, and you know what? I’m not really sure I want that speculum coming close enough to my face or fingers to determine whether or not it’s bigger than a tampon . . .
Really, the pap itself wasn’t a big deal, but telling me to relax does not make it magically happen. On the dubious plus side, I didn’t know in advance that I was going to be having one, so I didn’t have time to get myself all anxious about it.
Back from getting biopsy done at Boston University. It hurts a lot, no talking, very very careful gingerly swallowing only, not much eating as even the dab of chocolate ice cream I tried was painful just now. I think I lucked out. A Dr. Sadru Kabani was the faculty oral pathologist available and it looks like he might be one of the best there is. I loved going to a teaching clinic – nothing like the perfectly manicured place with Nurse Blahbiddyblah & co last week, full of many students and residents in *not *a glamorous space, low ceilings and fluorescent lights, everybody paying attention and being efficient and curious and thoughtful. Dr Kabani is a listener (A+#1 thing for doctors in my book) and a definitely calming presence, centered guy. He looked, he asked questions, he looked again, he asked more questions, he sent me upstairs for surgery immediately and took pictures of my owie to show to students (though several of them also looked in person). He’s having me call Thursday morning for the biopsy results and go back for followup next Tuesday. And he was nice to my husband.
ETA: Oh, and ten stitches. They started out with fewer but some popped out spontaneously before they even finished.
I called the good Dr. Kabani per his instructions today and he said *he can’t tell me over the phone; *I have to come in in person and talk to the Oral Surgery Department. (He is Oral Pathology.)
So either Dr. Kabani is a doofus and didn’t know he can’t tell me over the phone no matter what the news is, or the news is bad and that’s what they don’t allow over the phone. He didn’t strike me as a doofus.
Another epic journey is planned early tomorrow morning. I am so so so so glad I have mr. emilyforce to help me. I haven’t eaten much at all for the last three days (too nervous before biopsy, too painful after) so I’m pretty useless. Also I love him and stuff, so that’s nice.
Not to alarm you or anything, but sometimes if there’s a thing on your tongue, they have to saw off your whole head. And then they point at you and laugh.
I had that done once.
Actually, it was just a salivary gland infection and they gave me some antibiotics. Hoping for good news on your biopsy results!
Oh, waiting is never fun, but I wish you the best!
I go to the teaching hospital that is near me, the students have so much information fresh in their brains, and are more willing look until they find an answer it seems. If anyone will get to the bottom of it I am sure they will.
Good Luck!
I had had a bump on my tongue, which got large enough that they cut it out. The cut was almost an inch long, half inch wide but not too deep. Fortunately, it was benign, and everything grew back to normal.
Well, it is cancer: squamous cell carcinoma. Tuesday we go back to Boston for consultations with two more specialists who will no doubt order up a raft of tests to stage it and plan the attack.
Fish, bless your sawn-off head, that was just what I needed! I made the announcement on Facebook with the caveat that while sympathy is welcome, telling me I’m brave is not. I didn’t get any violations there but did get some “everything is a blessing in disguise” type cheer-up attempts, bleargh.
The site of the biopsy is not healing well (a sore spot that wouldn’t heal being the problem in the first place) and hurts, so I’m still not eating much. So I’m all low-blood-sugared and cranky. Off to suck down a Spirutein shake.
Thank you, guys. Dopers are way better at this than most people.
Emilyforce I am sorry to hear the bad news. Thank you for posting an update even when you are cranky from hunger. Dunno if help from a stranger is anything you’d like but I do live in Boston.
I just started reading this thread today, and was so sad when I got to your diagnosis. Please keep us posted on your treatment. Don’t worry, you’ll have this thing licked in no time. (Sorry, I know somebody already made this pun, but I just had to write it.)
Halleluiah! Most of the rest of my biopsy stitches just came out. OMG it’s AMAZING how much better that feels; Tool of the Conspiracy, you were so right. Wow. I think there’s just one or two of them left. I might eat something I have to chew tomorrow! (shivers of excitement)
Alice The Goon, thanks for your magic. As it happens I’m not interested in legal type addressments. There wasn’t really any definitive warning sign for any of the docs to see – at its worst, before this fall, my owie looked like a canker sore. I don’t think I’d want my every canker sore biopsied… As far as I can tell, the real problem is that oral problems that are not *dental *problems are a weird gray area that neither doctors nor dentists know enough about; this is probably exacerbated by the way insurance (patient health insurance for sure, and presumably malpractice insurance too) treats such things.
Please don’t be offended, but the only experience I’ve ever had with squamous cell carcinoma was with my beloved cat, Red, who had it on his little pink kitty nose in a big way. Just wanted to let you know that after radiation ($6,000 worth!) he was 100% fine. No cancer, no recurrence. I had him put to sleep more than four years later due to a number of age related maladies which had absolutely nothing to do with either the cancer of the treatment.
