Today I got the news I have been expecting since I had an ultrasound on my breast last week. I have breast cancer. I don't know anything about treatment yet. I don't know just how much this will turn my life upside down. I'm not afraid, just apprehensive and annoyed at the thought of so much change.
It actually started almost eight weeks ago, when I felt a lump in my left breast. My last mammogram was in December 2018, and it was clear. Fine. No worries. Then, in late November, I felt a lump that had not been there just a few weeks before. I went to my gynecologist on November 25th for my annual checkup. I had been sick with a bad cold for several weeks at that point, coughing and congested, and feeling poorly. My doctor said she thought it was a swollen lymph node. We agreed that I would wait until I was fully recovered and not coughing anymore, and then see if it was still there.
It was.
After Thanksgiving break, things got crazy with the end of my semester, grading papers and tests, and then Christmas and New Year's Eve. The first week of January rolled around, and Lumpie was still there. So on Tuesday, January 14th, I had a diagnostic mammogram and an ultrasound. A diagnostic mammogram is basically a regular mammogram, and then another mammogram with a magnifying lens in the machine and a different sort of "paddle" or "press" thingy that helps them target one area. During the ultrasound I could see Lumpie, and it did not look good. I think that was when I began to think that this was really cancer.
The next day, Wednesday, January 15th, they called me to schedule a biopsy.
The next day, Thursday, January 16th, they called me to schedule an appointment with a surgeon.
Yesterday, Wednesday, January 22nd, I had a biopsy done of Lumpie and of a sketchy-looking lymph node in my armpit.
Today, Thursday, January 23rd, my doctor called me with the news. Both Lumpie and the lymph node are malignant. I don't know what type yet, and I don't know what the next step is beyond going to meet with the surgeon.
Here are some things I do know:
God is good, and He loves me more than I can ever imagine.
He has given me a wonderful husband and three awesome children, as well as a sweet son-in-law and two beautiful granddaughters. They are my biggest fans.
I have incredible parents, siblings, cousins, friends, co-workers, and students. They will all support me and help me through this. Many of them have been through similar things and can speak words of wisdom and encouragement to me.
My heart is full when I consider all of these blessings.
Let the battle begin! More soon from the trenches...
