Hoping for good news tomorrow, @Beth Gallagher , and that he can give you something to help that gout flare, too. I have those now and again, and they hurt SO much ! Sending you hugs and prayers for a good treatment day tomorrow, and that he can help you feel better again.
LOL. Right now I am re-reading Gilda Radner's book, "It's Always Something." It's really sad how her cancer was mis-diagnosed until she was stage 4. I can't believe she's been gone for 35 years! It's weird but I can usually get a little relief from the disc thing by sitting in a recliner with a tall back. The "head support" takes the pressure off for a bit. I tried one of those collar things one time but it was annoying as hell, hot, and didn't seem to help my neck pain.
Thanks, Yvonne. I'll admit I'm a little nervous but that's par for the course. I'm sure my blood pressure will be sky-high tomorrow.
I think that's great that you get the results right away, waiting is the worst. Wishing you get good results tomorrow, and They give you the steroid and the MRI for your neck.
Thanks, Tony. And I agree, MD Anderson has their act together. The first day I went there for my diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound, they viewed the images while I waited, then sent me immediately for a needle biopsy. They knew I had cancer within a few hours and so did I... and that was at the height of Covid. I hate hearing about people having scans and having to wait days or weeks for results. The waiting is terrible.
Went to MDA and had the mammogram, ultrasound and oncologist appointments. They scared me senseless with the mammo... called me back THREE TIMES for "more views." Then the ultrasound tech kept going over one spot about 50 times during that procedure which had my heart rate at about 600. Finally got to my doctor's appointment an hour late because of all the scanning and he gave me some semi-bad news. I have some calcifications in my breast that are possibly pre-cancerous. He said there is no "mass" but I need a biopsy to see if there is any malignancy. He said it is not an emergency but he will schedule the biopsy soon. (I had the option of refusing the procedure to "wait and see" but why would I do that?) He said it will be a "stereotactic" biopsy. In stereotactic breast biopsy, a special mammography machine uses x-rays to guide the radiologist's biopsy equipment to the site of the imaging abnormality to get a tissue sample. Sounds like a real party, huh? Anyway, I have calmed down but I was quite a ball of anxiety earlier. My doctor called in an Rx to Walgreens for my gouty foot. When we got home there was a message from Walgreens that said the prescription is delayed due to an insurance issue. What the hell. We have had the same insurance for years. Now I'll have to call Walgreen's and sit on hold for 8 hours.
You had a tiring, Exhausting, Nerve racking day. Your doctor seems right on top of things, Whatever the test results are, You're gonna be fine. Sorry you're having problems with the insurance company, It happens a lot with us also. Try to relax, I know it's not easy, Try to think of other things for a little while like fighting with the insurance company. We're listening and praying. Tony
Thanks, Tony. I'm actually pretty calm, taking a page from my doctor's book. He did not seem unduly concerned since it would be early stage at this point. I did rag him about my wanting to have the double mastectomy in 2021, which "wasn't recommended" at the time. I may revisit that when the dust settles. I'm not dealing with the insurance company; we'll just go to Walgreens and pay for the damn medicine.
Wow. What can you say? You don't want another round of crap, but you gotta be grateful anything potentially harmful got caught in time. I've not heard of "precancerous calcifications." I figured calcium deposits were benign mineral deposits. Regarding insurance: That sucks. There are so many fingers in that pie. I got that cath antibiotic I end paying for out of pocket because some agency changed the code for that particular form of the medication.
Most of the time the calcifications are benign. He said because of my history they will take a closer look. "Although breast calcifications are usually noncancerous (benign), certain patterns of calcifications — such as tight clusters with irregular shapes and fine appearance — may indicate breast cancer or precancerous changes to breast tissue." I don't know if there is an actual insurance issue or if Walgreen's is just a cluster-eff as usual. I have had so many problems with Walgreens; I don't know why we continue to do business there. Most of my repeat prescriptions are mail order so it's only these one-offs that cause a problem.
I'd give anything if you didn't have to get on the roller coaster again, but thank God we live in a time where that knowledge and technology exist. (I'm finding out that they occasionally let me off of the urology roller coaster, but I can't leave the amusement park.) I know it's nowhere near the same, but in 2017 I had a cyst discovered on my kidney (incidental to what the CT scan was seeking) that was "indeterminate." I went for an ultrasound to see if it were cancerous, and they could not tell. I had to wait a full year for another ultrasound so the two could be compared, and it ended up being benign, although it continues to freak out radiologists who see it for the first time. My main thought was "If it's bad, I'm glad it was discovered this way while it's pre-symptomatic." Of all the pharmacy bad-mouthing I hear (usually staffing issues), Walgreens seems to be the one against whom the internet slander is deserved. I use Walmart, but the one thing I dislike is they do not give you the reams of drug information with your meds that everyone else does. Instead (unless it's a refill), you pay for the bottle of drugs and wait for a pharmacist to come over and tell you about the dosing, side effects, etc, at which point you can ask questions. If you want the standard info, you can get it off of Walmart's website.
@Beth Gallagher - Beth, so sorry you are having to stress out over all this. Try and just take it one breath at a time, and keep us posted- on every move.