Tuesday 24 March 2009

Meet Burt and Cleveland

I have two new friends, Burt and Cleveland.

They are lumps, and they live in my left breast. I'm not going to hold this against them, I'm sure they didn't choose to be there, but I would like them gone just the same. I like to think of us on the same side. They want to get out of body, and I, myself, would like them to get the hell out as well!

I discovered Burt's (the bigger one) presence about three weeks ago, and made an appointment with my doctor for last Thursday. At the appointment, she told me that it was most likely a cyst, and would go away on its own. She got me an ultrasound appointment the next day anyway, Just In Case.

The room for the ultrasound was lovely and warm, and even the ultrasound gel was heated. It was not an unpleasent experience, despite the fact that the doctor discovered Cleveland, the second, smaller lump. Both Burt and Cleveland are most likely fibromas, benign tumours of connective and fibrous tissue. (See how my vocabularly is expanding?) It is incredibly unlikely that they are cancerous, but may need to be biopsied Just In Case.

(I can't figure out why they "may" have to be biopsied. Why aren't they just going to do it? I mean, in the worst case, they stick a needle in me for no reason. Sure beats the alternative worse case scenerio.)

In either case, benign or malignant, these guys are gonna hafta go. Fibromas don't just go away by themselves, and they grow. I'd rather get rid of them while they are smaller. It somehow sounds less dramatic.

Anyway, now I'm just waiting for my doctor's phone call to update me. I have been waiting for days (since my Friday appointment, though I didn't expect a call over the weekend, of course), and am just eager to know what the next step is. I'm not worried or anxious (a 21-year-old with breast cancer is so very rare), but I'm certainly preoccupied. I wish they would just call me already!


** PLEASE be sure that you are doing your own monthly self breast exams and, if you are over 40, getting yearly mammograms as well. Finding something is no fun, but it is miles and miles better than not finding something that is there. Do it. Your friends and family will thank you.**

2 comments:

  1. Oh sweetie, I hope he calls any minute. the waiting is the pits. I hope that you get the news that you want. I am so going to keep you in my thoughts.

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  2. Oh that is scary. I'm sorry this is going on. Keep us updated.

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