Hope, Healing, and the Road Ahead

After discovering during my MRI that the marker from the biopsy of my left breast didn’t actually sample the suspicious tissue , my surgeon ordered a follow-up biopsy. T he radiologist who did the MRI recommended a mammogram guided biopsy. The first biopsy was done by ultrasound. My surgeon also ordered a scan of my left axillary area to check on t he lymph nodes in that area as that is where the cancer tends to spread first.    The imaging appointment was with a radiologist I had not worked with before and it did not go as I expected. Rather than a guided mammogram biopsy, another ultrasound guided biopsy was done , and I never received a scan of my left axillary area. I left that appointment feeling really confused and frustrated .     The appointment was on July 2 nd and because of the holiday weekend , the results didn’t arrive until July 8th. And for the second time , the biopsy missed the tumor in my left breast . By the end of the day af...

The bruise from the biopsy looks bad...but it didn't hurt!  The surgeon I selected to do my lumpectomy has her patients undergo a breast MRI . She uses the detailed imaging of the breast tissue to as sist w ith her surgery planning. While a breast MRI is a valuable tool in certain situations, it's not a standard part of every breast cancer diagnosis. In fact, I know several women who have had breast cancer recently and who never had an MRI.    In my case, I’m especially grateful that the MRI was done. My original mammogram came back as abnormal in both breasts. As a result, I had a follow -up ultrasound and bi-lateral biopsies. The original biopsies came back positive for cancer in the right breast and negative (or benign) in the left breast. That felt like a small win at the time...at least I didn't have cancer in BOTH breasts!    On Ju ne 5 th I went in for my MRI and an ultrasound of my right axillary area to ass ess the lymph nodes and lo...