Today was grueling... It was the day I had an appointment for my annual mammogram... Let me preface this by telling my story as briefly as I can. In the late spring of 2006, I had a regular mammogram and I got a registered letter saying that something was wrong. When I went in, they explained that there were "shadows" and that I needed a biopsy to rule out cancer. They assured me that it was probably fine, and just a precaution. My sister had a breast removed a few years back, but I really didn't think they would find anything.
I went in for the biopsy, thinking that it would be quick and painless. Wrong... It's not that it was painful, but I would compare it to getting a root canal. They take away the pain but they don't... It was much scarier than I thought it would be. You have to lay face down on this narrow board of a table with a whole in it where your breast hangs through the hole due to gravity. You can't move for an hour, and so you get really sore from being so stiff. Then they do that again and it takes all morning. They don't give you any valium, which is probably needed, but then you would probably move. They are looking through a screen at your breast and trying to "shoot" what looks like a small BB into the breast in the "troubled" area. This took hours, and although I'm not a crier, it makes you want to sob (and most women do.) Then you go home and they don't give you the results until the next day (unless it's a Friday like it usually is for me.) And mine came back as breast cancer in the beginning stages, still encapsulated.
After you get over the shock of being told you have "the C word," then you start asking friends which doctors you should talk to. These were all the best of the best in San Antonio. The first doctor said (very cocky and confidently) that he would remove both breasts and do a hysterectomy. Ummm, I decided to get a second opinion. The next surgeon said he would remove that breast and give me the drugs that sound scary. (This is the option my sister chose.) Then, I found a woman doctor who only works on breast cancer cases. She's a tough woman and previous army doctor. She said that she would do a lumpectomy and see how aggressive it was. This is the option I chose.
The day surgery was set up in San Antonio's best hospital, and all went pretty well. My entire family came, and I felt good enough to leave after the day surgery and get Mexican food. I waited with baited breath for the results the next day but wasn't prepared for what happened. The doctor called to say that this had never happened before, but she missed the BB. She took out the wrong lump. She apologized and said I had to get the surgery again. And still had to pay the same (huge) amount for the second operation. Wow... Ordinarily I would have told her to get lost and find another surgeon, but I decided to do what she said. So, I had the same surgery two weeks later. This time they made sure the BB was in the mass while I was under to make sure. And this time I got really sick from the anesthesia, and had a much worse recovery.
When the doctor called the next day, she said the cancer was gone. She was baffled. I said God healed me, as I was on every prayer chain in America plus my pastor and church were praying constantly. She paused and said, well, maybe. She added that sometimes an initial operation could make your immune system really kick in. I had never heard of that and besides, I knew that God had healed me since I had made lots of foxhole promises that I intended on keeping, and have. She offered radiation for good measure and the strong drugs, but why? The cancer was gone. She said it herself. She said okay, then we will just watch it very closely. I went every 6 months for two years, and now it's annually.
But it's always grueling. Today, I went armed with my Bible. It's the biggest woman's imaging center in South Texas, and it's all they do. All the women in my waiting room are in my same boat. Previous breast cancer, and doing the annual exam only much more detailed. Last year it went fast, and only took about 20 minutes. Today she did those tests, and then you wait while the radiologist reads it. Later they came back for longer, more painful and more detailed tests and then more waiting.
Then, much later they came back for a long sonogram on each breast. And then, the words I had longed to hear, "You're good to go." Yahoooooooooo!! Happy Dance!! I had decided in the car when I was praying, that when I got my good report, I would go back to the other women waiting in prison to find out their fate, that I was praying for them (and I was) and I did. Then I texted my family that I had asked to pray. Then I turned on worship songs of praise. And I treated myself to some of my favorite foods for lunch. And then I proceeded to cry most of the way home. Such a huge relief. Such a nerve-wracking morning.
At least there are 364 more days of bliss until I have to do it again...
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