Tuesday, November 23, 2010

I'm Fine, But This Was Scary Stuff

It's something every woman dreads: the notification that the mammogram was not entirely satisfactory and please come back for further investigation. You call up, you make your appointment for the earliest possible time, you wait it out, you pray a lot, you prepare for the worst. You remind yourself that this has happened before, to you, to your sister, to others you know, and it's almost always nothing.  On the other hand, the family history is there...  You remind yourself that if Barbara could do it, so can you, if need be.

The hardest part of the waiting, for me, was all the extra attentiveness from Demetrios. The long, loving looks, the "Let me do that," the wanting to be constantly near. Oh, yes, of course, it's sweet, it's kind, it's wonderful to have such a lovey-dovey husband -- except when you know there's fear behind it.  He's cheerful, but he's scared and you hate that. And he's a doctor.

So the day of the appointment comes, and you go into the x-ray room, and here comes a second shock: they want to re-check BOTH breasts. OMG, has the thing already metastasized? And the x-ray technician says, "Next time, don't wait and do your mammogram the day before you're going away for six months; it give us heart failure."

She takes the pictures and the pain is so bad it gives you your excuse to cry. She goes back to speak to the radiologist. You wait some more, wiping away your tears because the sight of you crying over this is something you are NOT going to inflict upon your husband.  Not yet, anyway.

She comes back. There's no smile, but her words begin with, "The GRRREAT news is..." You still can't smile. She says, "...it's only cysts and we want to see you back here in six months."

Thank You, thank You, thank You!

Kyrie, eleison!

Happy Thanksgiving!

15 comments:

margaret said...

I am so glad! And it is painful, it's like having your boob shut in a door.

My two-year post-op check up is on the 30th, please pray for me.

Emily H. said...

Isn't that wonderful! I was thinking about you all of yesterday.

I lit a candle for you at Vespers for the Entrance. I'm so glad the Mother of God has consoled you!

Please continue to pray for us.

Margaret, I'll pray for you too.

Wonderful Thanksgiving!

Dixie said...

I am so grateful for this good news for you.

Much love.

Chocolatesa said...

Thank God!

I'm hoping they figure out some way to do it without pain by the time I'm old enough for that!

DebD said...

wow, that is scary! So thankful it turned out well.

Margaret - praying for you.

Anastasia Theodoridis said...

Thanks, friends, very much. Emily, I'm so very touched you lit a candle for me! Chocolatesa, you ARE old enough for a mammogram. I can't imagine why they aren't recommended these days for younger women, as if younger women didn't get breast cancer!

Ladies, GET REGULAR MAMMOGRAMS! (They don't usually hurt as much as this one did; it seems to have been a mistake, as the technician quickly lessened the pressure.) But it doesn't matter because pain or no pain, mammograms are nothing compared with breast cancer. GET REGULAR MAMMOGRAMS!

amy said...

So happy to hear of your great news! Praise God!

Margaret, I'll be praying for you.

I'll have my first mammogram soon ~ pray for me too, please, as I am not looking forward to it. I'm such a wimp!

Unknown said...

Anastasia,

My wife would like to contact you privately about this. May she?

Rev. Allen Braun
braunhaus@socket.net

Anastasia Theodoridis said...

Margaret, I forgot to say I'll pray for you WRT this specifically.

elizabeth said...

Thank God!!!

Prayers also for Margaret... :)

GretchenJoanna said...

Thanks to God! I have so many women in my family-- aunts, grandmother, mother-- who had breast cancer, they like me to be checked yearly. Usually it doesn't hurt, but last time the technician had a different style and ouch!

margaret said...

Anastasia is right. I hope I didn't put anyone off by saying it hurts - it does hurt for a second literally. We're told to check our breasts every month and all that but so much more can be detected in mammograms and ultrasounds. My tumour was 9mm, and stage 1 (right at the beginning)and all I needed was a lumpectomy and lymph node removal. If I hadn't been able to have a mammo and found that lump when it was big enough to feel with my untrained fingers it would have been a very different situation.

Chocolatesa said...

Thanks for the reassurance and admonishment! I'll call my doctor. My mother had it as well but they caught it early enough so she had surgery and a few weeks of radiation therapy and that's all, she's been fine for 2 years now.

Anastasia Theodoridis said...

Chocolatesa, my aunt and cousin had it and are both fine (my aunt in her late 80s!) and my sister died of it. (To be fair, she waited WAY LONG before she got checked, even though she could clearly see the big lump.)

Thing is, if someone in your immediate family has had it, such as your mother, your own chances are considered to be doubled.

So don't delay, and do it every single year. Mark your calendar.

Elizabeth @ The Garden Window said...

Glory to God for such good news :-)