So okay, after getting an unsolicited mammogram, it was recommended that I have further evaluation with a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound. I went this morning, and here’s how it went.
Before launching into this, I must mention that yesterday while I was out, I received a phone call from my primary doctor. My mom mentioned that it was about an eye exam. I called back but could not reach the doctor. This fact will become more significant later in the story.
So, the diagnostic mammogram is taken, and I am ushered into the room for the ultrasound. The technician does her thing, and then says she must talk to the doctor who’s viewing this apparently somewhere else. So she leaves me to stare at the ceiling for awhile, then comes back and says she needs to try again because the doctor isn’t satisfied. My reaction:
She does basically the same thing, with the ultrasound looking something like a moonscape on the monitor. After awhile, she excuses herself again, and soon comes back with another technician. My reaction:
The two technicians go through the motions again, and then one leaves. Now, they bring this full fledged doctor in. My reaction: :dubious:
The doctor does basically what the other two technicians have done, and except to snap a picture of what looks like a dark spot. After informing me I have extremely dense breasts (which I already knew) he says to me that he has to study everything and he estimates that there’s a fifty-fifty chance he’ll decide to recommend a biopsy. My reaction: :eek:
He further tells me that should I have a biopsy, he estimates that the chances are seventy percent nothing to worry about / thirty percent “uh-oh”.
When he leaves, the first technician takes the time to explain to me that 1) They found something on the mammogram that they can’t seem to find on the ultrasound which is why people were tromping in and out and having a crack at my ultrasound. 2) If the doctor decides to go for the biopsy, he’ll call my regular doctor and she’ll probably get in touch with me today, in fact, in the next couple of hours. So if my doctor doesn’t call, I should just go ahead and have a Happy New Year, and not worry.
So, I drive home, stopping at my version of a liquor store, my local Borders Bookshop. It’s closed, and doesn’t open for another hour, and I’ve already paid for parking. I decide, fuck it, I don’t need to throw away impulse money anyway, so I just go home.
And my mom tells me as I walk in that my regular doctor just called. My reaction: :eek::mad::eek::mad:
Of course, all my subsequent attempts to reach her are abject failures.
So now, I’m telling myself maybe she’s just calling about that eye exam she’s nagging me about from yesterday. If this were about the biopsy, she’d call me back, right? Right, I say, I’ll just keep telling myself this.
And tomorrow is Wednesday, so her office is closed.
My reaction to this entire stupid day: :smack::mad::eek: