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Biopsy Day!

October 20, 2017

“Your breast tissue is just too dense for us to get a good reading,” the ultrasound nurse explained. “You may need a biopsy just to be on the safe side.”

“Make sure you can go home afterwards,” the nurse advised. “They will tell you that technically you can go back to work, but you will have a suture, a bandage and the entire area has to be iced following the procedure. If you can schedule it for a Friday, do that.”

Sound advice.

But getting an afternoon appoint on a Friday is hard to do. And did I mention, I just started a new job?!? Not an ideal situation for a new employee.

The medical facility did not have a Friday appointment open until almost two weeks after my diagnostic mammo/ultrasound.

I figured it would be worth the wait.

My ultrasound guided core biopsy was scheduled for Friday, October 20 at 10:00AM. I was on a wait list for an afternoon appointment so I would not have to miss an entire day of work, but that did not work in my favor.

Waiting those two weeks were nerve racking. I became hyper-sensitive to all of the Pink October breast cancer awareness promos. It seemed like everywhere I went, I was being reminded that breast cancer kills lots of women, so check your boobs for lumps! I didn’t have a lump. 

And then finally……

Core Needle Breast Biopsy DAY!

I’m used to waking up and being on the road by 6:20AM each day, so of course I did not sleep late today. My biological clock is set for 5:30, so I woke up, ate and took a really, really long shower. My instructions said that I would not be able to shower until 24 hours after the procedure was done, and that I needed to make sure all deodorant and perfumes were removed from my skin prior to arrival.

And yes, I love a good hot shower.

I ate a light breakfast – pumpkin spice frosted mini wheats. Hey, it’s October, and EVERYTHING is pumpkin spiced right now. #FavoriteTimeOfYear

Craig & I left at 9:15 just in case Orlando traffic was challenging. We arrived early, which was nice. His mother and sister met us there, and were a tremendous amount of support to us both. They all waited for me there; family members were not allowed in the surgical areas.

I checked in and was given a super-official hospital bracelet.

A young woman (I’ll call her Kami here) called me back for the procedure.

“I’ll be right with you from start to finish,” she explained. And she was. Kami was my angel.

I changed into a gown (from the waist up) and waited in a women’s only waiting area. It’s the same place I had been the week before for my mammogram and ultrasound.

The place was packed.

I started getting nervous.

How big would the needle be? Would there be numbing cream so I wouldn’t feel it? I’d heard that they put a cloth screen up in front of your face so you don’t see what was happening…that would be a relief. But the needle in the nipple….I couldn’t get that thought out of my mind.

Time to refocus. Big time.

I pulled out my phone to pass the waiting room time…what did we do before cell phones?!?!

Craig gave me his wireless earbuds this morning, so I started watching a Hell’s Kitchen Las Vegas edition on my phone. We visited Vegas in July for a family vacation, so I immediately honed in on the scenery, contestants, etc. Craig always knows what I will need in advance of any situation…he’s so wonderful.

As I watched Gordan Ramsay explain his new restaurant in Caesar’s Palace (this was an old episode, BTW) Kami called my name again, took me to a surgical room and snapped these cute hospital bracelets on me.

I asked her immediately about the numbing cream.

Her advice was to ask the doctor, as he’d be in shortly to explain the procedures.

Next, I asked her if I could listen to earbuds during the procedure, and she said it would not be an issue.

YES!

The doctor came in and explained that he and another doctor would be doing the procedure, along with the ultrasound tech and my new BFF, nurse Kami. My first thought was that this would be a lot of people for a simple biopsy.

And, there would be no numbing cream. And no screen to block the procedure from my line of sight. But the good news was that the shots would not be directly in the nipple. Whew!

I started sweating under the thin hospital gown, which was not a good thing considering I did not have on deodorant per the pre-op instructions.

Within moments I was on the table.