Biopsy Results and Surgery Decisions

Hi all,

We were in Pittsburgh this past Tuesday for an MRI-biopsy and an appointment with the plastic surgeon. First was the MRI. Let me be honest, the MRI-guided biopsy is not a fun procedure.  It is actually quite difficult to go through.  The good news is that I got through it and do not have to go through one in the foreseeable future!  The reason that I had it done was that there was an area in the right breast that showed up in a previous MRI as "possibly concerning."  So they used MRI imaging to locate the spot and then take a sample.  Surprising to me, I had a small audience of medical staff as this is apparently a unique procedure. So that was weird.  But there is something about breast cancer that helps you get over any sort of modesty in medical settings. The head of the radiology department at AGH was supervising the procedure and he took good care of Craig and me at the appointment.  He said that he has been following my case from the beginning and has taken special interest in it since he has two daughters.  If that means I get extra good care, then so be it!

It took 48 hours to get the results of the biopsy from the lab, and they called me on Thursday morning with the results.  Guess what? BENIGN!  Woohoo!  From what we can tell at this point, there is no cancer in the right breast.  This is great news.

Although there is no cancer in the right breast, I have made the personal decision to do a bilateral mastectomy regardless.  This is a decision that I feel confident with.  I made the decision to possibly avoid hormone therapy,for preventative reasons, and for aesthetic reasons (think: symmetry).  I feel thankful that I even get to make this decision and the decision wasn't made for me with the biopsy results.

Our other appointment on Tuesday was with the plastic surgeon, Dr. White.  That went really well.  We were just touching base before the surgery date about the reconstruction. We were able to ask all of our questions, and Dr. White is very patient to answer all of them fully.

My surgery is in less than 2 weeks.  It is starting to feel real.  Thinking about it is sobering.  I am thankful that the time of waiting is coming to a close, but I am also starting to think about the difficulties of having such a major surgery. Continue to pray for strength and peace.

I will write soon about a few ideas that Craig and I have come up with of things people might be able to support us.  In the meantime, just keep doing what you are doing!