Apparently, both of my MRI biopsies from last Friday are negative! I am so happy. That doesn't mean that I'm totally out of the woods yet but it is a big step closer.
But an MRI biopsy is much more complicated. They scan you to find the target locations, pull you out of the scanner tube and then start placing thick straw-like needles and markers inside of the target areas of your body to make sure they have the right location. Then they put you back in the scanner with these needles poking out of you. They verify via the MRI scanner that the needles are in the right location and then start taking samples. Of course, I was numbed up for this procedure but you can still feel the pressure and hear what's going on. You feel violated. I know the team I had working on me was excellent (I had two doctors and 4 nurses and assistants in the room during this time), but it was tough to have all of those people examining me at once.
I had 10 samples taken on each side. The mechanism they use to take the samples sounds like a power drill. The whole thing is just yucky. It is done in a machine that looks like this. The physicians are working underneath you to take the samples they need.
So....of course, I had to wait to get the results over the weekend. Whether or not they came back positive would determine the extent of my surgery. It was yet another rough weekend, although I attended a couple of holiday parties, which was fun. I am still waiting to tell the people at these parties about my illness. The holidays just seem like a bad time to be a downer.
I still have one more biopsy that my doctor originally wanted to do but given the placement of the area of concern, the logistics made it impossible to do last Friday. Dr Wolfman (my amazing radiologist) indicated that she is less concerned about this third area since it looked "less suspicious" than the other two biopsied areas that came back negative, but I am waiting to hear back from her to find out if she wants to proceed with this additional biopsy. If so, it will likely be done this Thursday.
In other news, my genetic test results will take another week or so to come back to me. So frustrating! The results of these tests are a big deal. Apparently, the only place in the entire country that can do this test is called "Myriad Genetic Laboratories" which sounds like the name of a nefarious company in a sci-fi action film that is hell bent on world domination (a la Dr. Evil). But the truth is that Myriad couldn't be further from evil in that they are focused on genetic testing on an individual's risk of developing certain types of cancer so that doctors can have more informed treatment options. I think Myriad is the only company that has the patent to conduct genetic testing on the BRCA gene mutation. Here's a link to their website if you're interested in learning more.
The ge test costs $4,000 and in order for my insurance to pay for it, they required Northwestern to write a letter justifying why it's important I get the test (if my insurance hasn't figured out I have breast cancer yet, they're going to find out pretty darn quick given all the doctors appointments I have already had!).
Myriad won't start doing the testing until the insurance company approves the letter. All of this happened last Tuesday, so the clock restarted last Tuesday for the 1-2 week time frame for results. Hopefully I'll hear back this week. Hoping for the best on this one.
So, running list of things I am waiting for:
- BRCA genetic mutation results
- Undergo a third MRI biopsy (TBD)
- Results from third MRI biospy (TBD)
- Surgery (hopeully a lumpectomy) and sentinel lymph node biopsy results to determine lympatic stage of cancer (scheduled for 12/15).
Peace and Joy and Love and Health
So glad to hear good news on the biopsy's. I've been wondering how you made out.
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