Now the waiting begins

 

Yesterday, I had a  Stereotactic biopsy done by my breast surgeon in Shreveport. I cant tell you how nervous I was. Yep, I have had other surgery's, biopsy's, needles galore lately, but just the thought of that being done in such a tender area was really getting to me. One Valium thirty minutes before helped calm me down and I guess that's why the doctor prescribed it for then. 

They have you take off your clothing above the waist. A paper  gown will cover your shoulders. You then lie on your stomach on a special  Frankinstine table that has a hole for your breast to hang through…Really, like they are gonna milk a cow!  A mammogram or MRI is used to find the exact site for the biopsy.

• Stereotactic biopsy This kind of biopsy is used to get a tissue sample from a lump that cannot be felt during a breast exam, but can be seen on a mammogram or an ultrasound. The lump may be too deep inside the breast to be palpable (felt by your fingers.) The surgeon will use a special type of X-ray imaging, to find the lump that the needle must target, in order to get an accurate tissue sample. The needle will follow the X-ray to the area of concern, and take a tissue sample. Recently, some surgeons have begun to implant a small bit of metal at the biopsy site, after taking a tissue sample, so that in future mammograms or ultrasounds, they can see where a biopsy was done. This kind of biopsy will create some scar tissue, where the biopsy occurred, but the metal tag will help your doctors distinguish between scar tissue and a benign area in your breast.

Then my doctor numbed my skin with a shot of numbing medicine where the biopsy needle was inserted.  He says ,you will feel three Bee stings, of which I told him, I didn't like Bees. Bees heck, more like a knife stabbing. Finally the area is numb, and a small cut is made in the skin. With a special X-ray to guide the needle, it is put into the suspicious area.  You must lie still while the biopsy is done, one arm up and the other to the side. Very Uncomfortable!
You will feel some pressure and hear a loud noise. Then, my doctor says I did good threw the procedure and he will get back with me in about 4 to 7 days. 
The small cut made for the needle did not  need stitches, just suture strips. Pressure was put on the needle site to stop any bleeding and a hugh  bandage was taped across my chest for pressure for 24 hours. Under that is suture stripes which have to stay on until the doctor sees me on the 30th of November. A small metal marker (clip) is  placed in the area where the biopsy sample was taken. This is done to locate the exact spot where the tissue sample was taken.
The metal marker will stay in your breast if you do not have cancer. You will not be able to feel it, and it will not set off metal detectors. You can still have an MRI safely. When you have mammograms in the future, the radiologist will be able to see the metal marker.

I’m so glad I got threw that part..now the waiting begins for the results 

Update Nov.22, 2010

If you read the above post about the Biopsy and the Frankenstein table, then your reading what I heard on the phone today while on a girls day out with my daughters and granddaughter. It went like this...Mrs Hall, I'm calling for Dr. so and so...Your biopsy results came back and the pathologist did not find it to be cancer but he does see Abnormal cells that can be the beginning....Blah, blah, blah...he has referred you to your doctor for surgery to remove these cells for further biopsy. The doctor wants to talk to you and your husband next Tuesday  and arrange a date for surgery...Blah, blah, blah...Mrs. Hall?...Can I ask you something, Miss? If the pathologist did not see cancer cells in the tissue sample, what are the chances of cancer in the ones removed in surgery? ...Blah, Blah, Blah...Mrs Hall, he will talk to you about that when he sees you. Please keep your dressing on that you have now and DO NOT remove it until he see you next week...I have Goggled this ABNORMAL CELLS for the last two hours. Most have had cells caught in time, some have had cancer hidden in the mass of abnormal cells, some have had large areas removed, some small. Some had radiation afterwards, some didn't. What is the Blah, blah, blah, I didn't hear? Should I expect the worse? Should I let them do the surgery in the first place? 

So now...I wait again.....