Breast Cancer. I get the results of the scan and breast tissue biopsy.

Florida 2013..what am I eating?

Back from holiday;

7th July 2013, I pick up the pile of mail that greets us on our return from Florida, there is an appointment to see the breast surgeon on the 12th July 2013. So I know some thing is not correct! I warn my husband.
8th July 2013, 07.30. I am at work. Having been away for two weeks my mail box is full, it will take two weeks to clear it all! So I make a start.
08.45, As I work in the hospital where I am being treated I know that The Breast Care Team should be in the office by now, I bleep the Consultant Breast Care Nurse using the hospital bleep system.
09.45, no response from my bleep. I decide to walk over to the Breast Unit. It is a long walk of over 10 minutes as my office and the Breast Care Unit are at opposite ends of the hospital. Its a beautiful day so I enjoy the walk in the sun.
When I get to the reception desk, the consultant nurse is there, she smiles and says 'I got your bleep and was just ringing you, come into my office'. I do so, I sit on the chair as instructed. Following the introductions and small talk, how was your holiday etc, she gets down to the nitty gritty;
'Well!' she says, and smiles ....'its not'

..........I relax thank goodness its not Cancer, my Husband was correct..........

'it's not Good news'..............'It is breast cancer'.

My mind cant keep up. My brain says No! that cant be correct you just said 'its not'. I must look puzzled, as she says again, 'the biopsy shows it is Cancer'.

OK, my first words are 'I am not having Chemotherapy, as it makes well people ill'. She smiles, 'We are not any where near that point, I am sure that the Cancer is HRT related. They will do a lumpectomy, then radiotherapy then you will go on Tamoxifen'. I relax, that sounds OK, I can do that. Things have obviously moved on since I did my nurse training, well it was a long time ago! I am not a nurse now, I am a Midwife, what do I know about modern breast cancer treatment? Nothing, I understand the jargon, but that's it.
She then gives me some more results from the Scan/ Biopsy findings; It is Ductal Carcinoma in situ (DCIS) so not invasive, it is small, Stage One as its less than 2cm. it is Grade 2, so medium growing. Due to this I will need surgery. This will be 'breast conserving surgery', a wide local excision or lumpectomy and some Lymph Glands will have to come out. Then it will be radiotherapy and Tamoxifen. OK! so to me that all sounds doable, I can cope with it, in fact if your going to have Breast Cancer at all this sound like the stage to catch it at and I am not worried.
I thank her, she tells me I will get an appointment through the post to see the Surgeon and I go back to my office and back to work.
After work I sit in the garden, enjoying the sun, reading a book, planning our next holiday to South Africa in October, after all I will be better by then?
My husband comes home, I give him the news, saying is not so bad at least I don't have to have Chemotherapy, he doesn't say much.
The worst bit comes over the next week as I inform my family, friends and work colleagues about the news. I get sick of saying it 'I have breast cancer' and people react in many different ways. Luckily as I am in the health care profession most of my colleagues are experts in dealing with bad news and are very caring people.
The appointment to see the surgeon arrives the in the next days post, its for Friday 12th July, but I know that already thanks to the letter at home. 

Breast Cancer. The Consultant Breast Care Nurse and my first appointment.

18th June 2013, The Breast Care Unit.
The breast care unit at my local hospital is now a purpose built building, no longer part of the main out patients department as it was in 2008. It is a very nice department, I go in and meet the friendly  Consultant Breast Care Nurse. She takes my history;
I am 55 years old, do not smoke ( never have), have two daughters and breast fed then both for a long time. There is no family history of breast cancer. My BMI is 22. I have taken the pill in the past and am taking HRT now. I am fit and healthy for my age and she tells me in the 'low risk' group.....but she pulls a face at the word HRT.
She then gets a sheet of paper with a 'breast map' on it. Examines my breasts, she can feel the lump in the right breast at 9 O'clock, but whilst I say its a pea size lump, she thinks its more tubular in shape. Its is painful and I jump when it is palpated. She draws the findings on the breast map.
I move along the corridor to a room where I have a Mammogram. This is a very thorough examination as the Radiographer locates the lump with a special probe. But it is not unpleasant or painful. I don't understand why all the Mammograms are all so different?
The Consultant Breast Care Nurse calls me in to her office, the Mammogram does not show anything on it. But she is concerned as the lump is palpable and would like me to have a Scan. I go to another room for the scan.
The Doctor performing the scan can see the lump, but the out lines of it are 'poorly defined', so she asks if she can to do a Punch Biopsy. I consent. Lignocaine is injected into the area to numb the pain, then using a thick trocar needle she takes a few samples of the breast tissue. They look like worms in a pot. This procedure sounds worse than the Fine Needle Biopsy I had in 2008, but thanks to the lignocaine it was less painful than that was.
The Consultant Breast Nurse calls me back into her office to tell me that:
The Mammogram does not show anything, but the lump can be seen on scan and the Doctor performing the scan 'is undecided as to what it looks like'. The results of the biopsy will be back on Friday PM and how do I want to get the results. I explain that there is a problem with the date as I will be on a Virgin plane, with my family on the Friday. Bound for Orlando. She tells me that I can have the results sent to me by text? I decline, I don't want to know the results by Text as  its not going to make any difference to my plans, in that I won't be cancelling my holiday if it is Cancer........to late I will be on my way! and anyway it will not make a difference to any treatment plan or surgery schedule even if it is Cancer. I decide I will pop over on Monday 8th of July, when I am back at work and get the results then.
I tell her I have not told any one in my family, asking what she thinks I should do? She kindly advises me that I should let my husband know I have had the tests as it may be a shock for him if the result is Cancer, this is the right decision and I do it when I get home that evening. He seems to take the news well, but is totally convinced that it will be OK and cant possibly be Cancer..........I know it is denial.

I ask him not to tell the rest of the family as I don't want it to be the subject of discussion for the holiday.