11.3.11 The 1st day of the rest of my life

So I'm vacuuming out my car and I get a phone call from my ob/gyn: "It is cancer." Are you serious? I ask her (as if anyone would call and make a joke like that). The conversation continues with a series of me saying "uh huh" in total shock. I'm surprised that I haven't shed any tears until my doctor does. It's a phone call that doesn't have a lot of answers, but a breast surgeon would be calling me with an appointment made for the following day. Now I get to call Teague. Sadly, that would be only slightly harder than the next phone call which would be to my father & sister. This day sucks.

It started about three & a half weeks ago when I was nursing Presley (2.5 mos) and felt a hard lump. I had Teague feel it as well and we chalked it up to a clogged milk duct or something. I feel as healthy as ever, what else would this golf-ball sized thing be? I mean cancer doesn't just pop up that big after one day.

After 2 weeks of no changes, I decided to call my ob/gyn to get in for an appointment. She was headed out of town on vacation, but the nurse made an appointment at the Kearney Breast Center at the hospital up the street for an ultrasound. After the ultrasound, the radiologist wanted me to have a mammogram that day. I didn't think much of it (it is a clogged milk duct after all), but this test hurt more than those I've had in the past. Although, due to my pregnancy it's been close to 2 years since my last mammo. The doctor was "concerned" after looking at these images and scheduled a biopsy for the following Monday (Halloween).

I head in for the biopsy in the morning and after this many days (& numerous stories from others with benign lump and biopsy stories) have gone by, any worry I had was minimal. I've been working out every day, eating really well and have little babies, this is nothing. The procedure went fine & I was actually mostly bothered by the fact that I couldn't really do anything (housework, exercise, carry the baby in the Moby wrap for trick-or-treating) that day. This time, the radiologist mentioned that she was "worried" more than once and answered my question on what the chances of it being milk-duct related with "very remote." Uh oh. I wasn't going to hear the results for 3-5 days.....just sitting in wait. Until this phone call.