Diagnosis
September 5, 2019
I had my three month check up with my doctor for diabetes. I had gained so much weight in the last 10 years I became full blown diabetic. I needed to lose weight or I would need to eventually start insulin injections.
Back in August, I met with Jeanne at a local event, and she told me about this program called Optavia, where you order food from them to eat for the month, and make 1 lean and green meal a day. I started this program the week before school started.
I’m a high school math teacher. I needed to get myself into a routine so I could stick with it. This was my chance to get the weight off.
So after 2 or three weeks, I lost almost 15-20 pounds. My doctor was so impressed with my progress and my A1C level (went from a 6.5 to a 6.0).
He casually mentions that he had done a referral for a mammogram like 4 years ago, and how I never went. We’ve done this dance with the weight loss, so he knows I’m worse that students when it comes to getting stuff done, so he strongly recommends I go in for my mammogram.
He did another referral and I made my appointment for October 4, 2019. As a teacher, I have a plan period, and my appointment made it necessary to leave early as my plan period is at the end of the day. I checked in with my boss, asked if it was ok to leave early for this appointment on a Friday. He is always supportive and said yes.
About four or five days later, I get a call from the imaging center that did my mammogram. They left a message asking me to call back. I do so, and am immediately transferred to scheduling. They tell me I need to make an appointment for an ultrasound. They give me no other information.
Again, it’s a Friday afternoon appointment and I ask my boss again if I can leave a little early for this ultrasound. Again, he’s fine with it, wishing me luck.
When I arrive, I’m sent to a changing room and told to put on two gowns, one that opens in the front, and one that opens in the back on top. I had this feeling something was going to happen, so I snapped this picture:
The tech takes me into a room, and she starts to explain what’s going to happen. I have two suspicious spots on my mammogram, one in each breast. She spends about 5-10 minutes searching and scanning and snapping pictures with measurements. It’s all gibberish to me. She tells me she will be back, as she is going to have the radiographer check out the images.
The tech comes back with the radiograph doctor. She explains about the left breast, how it’s just a calcification and nothing to be worried about. But the right breast is worrisome. She tells me that they scheduled extra time to do a biopsy if I wanted to do that today. Did I have someone with me? Here’s the problem. No one communicated what was going on! I probably should have asked more questions.
I told both that I wanted to do the biopsy right away. They numb my right breast, I think three shots, and then the radiography doctor uses some tool to inject into my breast where the spot is. She does this three times, then inserts a small metal coil into where the spot is so it can be found easily in the future.
On Tuesday( I’m in the staff room at school, eating lunch. My phone rings. I normally don’t answer Tony phone during the school day, but I recognized my doctors number. I got up and answered the phone and stepped out into the hall. Luckily, the staff room is in a tucked away corner of our newly built school.
It’s my doctor. Not the nurse, not the secretary in his office. He very bluntly says, “It’s cancer.”
I don’t remember what else he said, started talking about what to expect. I remember hearing about a breast cancer surgeon, possible chemo, radiation....I really don’t know. I think we were on the phone for about 5 minutes.
I ring off, and walk back into the staff room. There are about 5 or 6 of my fellow teachers and friends sitting there, laughing and joking. I can’t look up. How do you interject a cancer diagnosis into the conversation? I finished up my lunch quickly, and made my way back to my classroom. I had two more classes to teach.
I am newly single, having split up from a 20 year relationship a year prior. I saw a friend in a conference room, sat down, and told her. And I cried.
I had my three month check up with my doctor for diabetes. I had gained so much weight in the last 10 years I became full blown diabetic. I needed to lose weight or I would need to eventually start insulin injections.
Back in August, I met with Jeanne at a local event, and she told me about this program called Optavia, where you order food from them to eat for the month, and make 1 lean and green meal a day. I started this program the week before school started.
I’m a high school math teacher. I needed to get myself into a routine so I could stick with it. This was my chance to get the weight off.
So after 2 or three weeks, I lost almost 15-20 pounds. My doctor was so impressed with my progress and my A1C level (went from a 6.5 to a 6.0).
He casually mentions that he had done a referral for a mammogram like 4 years ago, and how I never went. We’ve done this dance with the weight loss, so he knows I’m worse that students when it comes to getting stuff done, so he strongly recommends I go in for my mammogram.
He did another referral and I made my appointment for October 4, 2019. As a teacher, I have a plan period, and my appointment made it necessary to leave early as my plan period is at the end of the day. I checked in with my boss, asked if it was ok to leave early for this appointment on a Friday. He is always supportive and said yes.
About four or five days later, I get a call from the imaging center that did my mammogram. They left a message asking me to call back. I do so, and am immediately transferred to scheduling. They tell me I need to make an appointment for an ultrasound. They give me no other information.
Again, it’s a Friday afternoon appointment and I ask my boss again if I can leave a little early for this ultrasound. Again, he’s fine with it, wishing me luck.
When I arrive, I’m sent to a changing room and told to put on two gowns, one that opens in the front, and one that opens in the back on top. I had this feeling something was going to happen, so I snapped this picture:
The tech takes me into a room, and she starts to explain what’s going to happen. I have two suspicious spots on my mammogram, one in each breast. She spends about 5-10 minutes searching and scanning and snapping pictures with measurements. It’s all gibberish to me. She tells me she will be back, as she is going to have the radiographer check out the images.
The tech comes back with the radiograph doctor. She explains about the left breast, how it’s just a calcification and nothing to be worried about. But the right breast is worrisome. She tells me that they scheduled extra time to do a biopsy if I wanted to do that today. Did I have someone with me? Here’s the problem. No one communicated what was going on! I probably should have asked more questions.
I told both that I wanted to do the biopsy right away. They numb my right breast, I think three shots, and then the radiography doctor uses some tool to inject into my breast where the spot is. She does this three times, then inserts a small metal coil into where the spot is so it can be found easily in the future.
On Tuesday( I’m in the staff room at school, eating lunch. My phone rings. I normally don’t answer Tony phone during the school day, but I recognized my doctors number. I got up and answered the phone and stepped out into the hall. Luckily, the staff room is in a tucked away corner of our newly built school.
It’s my doctor. Not the nurse, not the secretary in his office. He very bluntly says, “It’s cancer.”
I don’t remember what else he said, started talking about what to expect. I remember hearing about a breast cancer surgeon, possible chemo, radiation....I really don’t know. I think we were on the phone for about 5 minutes.
I ring off, and walk back into the staff room. There are about 5 or 6 of my fellow teachers and friends sitting there, laughing and joking. I can’t look up. How do you interject a cancer diagnosis into the conversation? I finished up my lunch quickly, and made my way back to my classroom. I had two more classes to teach.
I am newly single, having split up from a 20 year relationship a year prior. I saw a friend in a conference room, sat down, and told her. And I cried.
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