BENIGN!!

Thank Heavens! Sorry I am posted about this so late. My doctor's office called me back on Tuesday or Wednesday to let me know the biopsy results had come back benign. I thought the woman on the phone had called the condition Fibrobcycstic, but I think I must of heard her wrong. On Thursday the surgeon called me because she didn't know if anyone in her office had called to let me know the results of the biopsy. I thought that was very good of her. She said the lump was a Fibroadenoma. Still not cancerous. Since fibroadenomas are benign, treatment will vary depending on the diagnosis. If it is small, painless, remains the same size(I pray it does), and the biopsy showed no problems, I will not need further treatment. I do have follow-up ultrasounds in 6 months. If there is growth or if it becomes painful the Doctor recommends removal of fibroadenomas. The exact cause of fibroadenomas is unknown. They seem to be influenced by estrogen. There is also a good change that it could disappear over time, I like that idea even better cause sleeping in a bra for a week after the biopsy was hell!

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers, thank you to my family and friends who have very much helped to keep this off my mind these last few weeks as I waited for my biopsy appointment and then again as I waited for the results. It has meant to world to me to know that I have such a support group!

I Hate Waiting!!

Friday was my biopsy and now I am waiting for the results to come in. I hate waiting! The biopsy itself wasn't bad. I do think though that Valium appears to have not have the desire effect with me. I felt no calmer after taking the medication then I did beforehand.

The nurses at the St. Agnes Breast Clinic were all very nice. This is the same hospital where I had my abdominal myomectomy last year, so I was comfortable going back there. The nurse that was with me asked me all these questions to make sure I knew what was going to happen and what I was to expect. Then the surgeon came in and talked to me before she started the procedure. I was nervous as all hell. Strange too, this procedure was so much less stressful on the body then my surgery last year, yet I wasn't really nervous at all like I was on Friday. Guess it's because the stakes are higher this time, yet had something gone wrong or if the fibroids were worse then anticipated the option of children being permanently removed would have been devastating to me.

Anyhoo, I didn't feel much except the needle going in to numb the area and then the pressure each time the doctor put the needle/gun back in to take another sample. The first sample she took - I nearly jumped off the table. No, not from pain, but I certainly gave the doctor and the nurses a scare! The nurse had warned me before hand that biopsy needle makes a clicking sound, I just didn't realize how loud of a sound it was. So she takes the first sample and I flinch on the table and suddenly I have 3 pairs of huge saucers eyes on me and all three of them asking me at once, "OMG did you feel that? You shouldn't have felt that! She numbed you up good!" If I wasn't wound so tight and if the Valium had worked the way I suspect it's suppose to work, I probably would have laughed at that point.

"No, I didn't feel any pain, a little pressure maybe. The noise just startled me." You could see all three of them exhaling at once! Like I said, I can certainly see the humor now, but Friday - yeah, not so much.

Then the nurse that was holding the sonogram wand, who was also the nurse that saw me take my 2nd Valium pill, pats my arm and says, "Oh Sweety, I guess that Valium hasn't kicked in yet has it?" Gee, Yeah think! "Well, you'll be feeling really good this afternoon then!" That 'real good feeling' never did seem to kick in on Friday.

After that first jump, the doctor let me know each time she was getting ready to pull the trigger. I don't think she wanted me jumping anymore either. Afterwards, they took some mammogram pictures to make sure the markers that were inserted, so that people know in looking at future mammograms that these two lumps have been biopsied already, the machine broke! I didn't get out there till about 2pm and I was starving. I hadn't eaten since about 7PM the night before! Not that I couldn't eat, I was just too nervous to eat, but at this point I would have eat a whole cow myself!

My sister took me out to lunch and she would have taken me anywhere else I needed or wanted to go, but I needed to keep ice on my boob for the next 5 hours and that would be a little difficult if I was out and about. Lucky for my I have several ice packs in my freezer. With my migraines, I need to make sure I can pull out a cold one when the one I'm using is no longer cold. So, home for the night I was.

Luckily, I did have a little pick-me-up just before going in! On Thursday, my 2nd Secret Pal package was delivered and what a package it was!! First off, the box was just too cute! I may try to reuse it. It's a share we don't have cute shipping boxes like that here in the states. I opened the box and I was instantly enveloped in the wonderful aroma of coffee! My pal send my some Espresso coffee from Finland! I find had a cup this morning and it was DE-Lish!! Yummy!! Next up was some organic espresso chocolate and some jelly candies from Finland as well. Haven't tried the chocolate yet, but the other candies are yummy! There was also two bars of handmade soap that smell yummy, and a pamphlet of Finnish to English translations of some knitting terms that my come in very handy for me since I have several shawls I'd love to make that need to be translated from Finnish to English before I can do anything! AND!!!! She send my Wollmeise yarn - not 1 BUT 2 skeins!! I've never knit with this yarn, but I have heard good things about it and boy is it soft!!! Two skeins of Wollmeise - Twin. This is one of the best perks of International swaps, getting yarns that I can't easy get in my area!! I have no idea what the colorways are because the label has it listed as "We're Different", but but when I check that colorway on Ravelry there are lots of variations for it. I think this happens to be We're Different - Aquarius:
one is a beautiful deep aquamarine/teal and the other is turquoise and green. GORGEOUS!! My pal has certainly taken the time to learn my color likes!! I'll try to get a nice outside picture of the skeins to really show off the colors! These skeins are a generous 510 yards each!! I am defiantely making a shawl with the more aquamarineish one. It's just too beautiful a color to hide under pants and inside shoes!

I'm so excited about this yarn that I would love to wind it up and cast on right now, but I have way to many UFOs flying around my house and I have to finish test knitting a pattern for Fresh from the Cauldron's - Oz Club, which I so regret not signing up for, but money was tight and too many house emergencies were happening for me to risk spreading my finances too thin. Besides, I have to find a shawl pattern!!



Thank you Secret Pal!! I love my 2nd package!! And it was just the little pick me up I needed before this weekend!

Tomorrow is the Day

Well, my waiting time is has just about come to an end. Tomorrow I go in for my breast biopsy. I'm relieved it's finally here and yet I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. I'm not exactly afraid of needles, but the thought of one long enough to get to where it needs to get to *shiver* and I will be awake for the procedure. I get to take a Valium before hand to calm my nerves and they will numb my breast so that I will not feel anything, but still. I've never had Valium before so I have no idea of what effect it will really have on me. Some of those drugs that are suppose to have a "calming" or "this feels good" side effect doesn't always seem to be the case with me.

My sister is taking me because I'm not allowed to drive if I'm going to take the Valium before the procedure. The surgeon says the procedure will only take about 20 minutes - hospital paperwork will tack on two hours I'm sure. They will numb the breast and then find the lump on the sonogram and then use the sonogram to guide the needle toward the lumps to remove tissue samples from each. I have no idea if I'm going to be able to watch, or if I should bring eye covers with me!

Luckily the lumps are right next to each other they sort of make a little dumbbell shape. *Apparently my right boob was secretly lifting weights* So they will take both samples from one little incision. Afterwards she will insert a mark at each lump so that in future mammograms they will know that those two have already been biopsied. A little butterfly band aid to close the incision and an ice pack in my bra and they will send me on my way.

Then the real waiting game begins. The results should come back in about 3 days. I'm guessing that means three business days, so I'm not expecting to hear anything till next Wednesday or Thursday. I think I can hold it together for one more week, or course I'm going to have the migraine from hell when those test results finally come in - no matter what the results. Just the release of the pent-up worry is going to trigger it, what can I say, I know my body and I know my migraine triggers. At least this way I can prepare for it.

Anyhoo, I need to get some sleep now, before I think of this anymore and worry myself into a bout of insomnia. Not what I need tonight.

One Thing at a Time

That's all I can do, and now I can happily cross one more house project off my list! My front walk is now complete and whole again. I was able to get 3 different estimates, two coming in at exactly the same price and the last three times higher!! I couldn't believe it. So I highered one of the construction companies to repair my sideway and I came home to find to entrance to my house roped off. Guess the guy didn't realize that this was the only way into my house.




He came back the next day to remove the frame and and bring the dirt level up some, but he left me room in the flower bed for topsoil to plant new plants. He did a good job.



Now I just need to price out topsoil for the front lawn and plant grass come mid-September. Slowly, one step at a time.

Goodbye My Lover...