The letter for the recall had a date on it...and I did not have long to wait either.
You know when you have been for something that you didn't much care for...then you find out you have to do it all again......well i had that kind of trepidation feeling, but despite all reassurances in my letter, I have to say I was concerned.
The letter told me that I was one of the 1 in 20 who get a recall. It also said that many of these recalls were for technical reasons and that only 1 in 4 would be diagnosed with cancer.
My sensible head was telling me that as I could neither see or feel any abnormailty, the stats were in my favour...but I wasn't sure I actually felt reassured.
I took himself along with me for the resit.
Goodness knows why as he is not much good in a crisis.
The one stop Breast Screening Clinic at Burnley General is very well run and they aim to give the ladies definitive answers in one visit.
The clinic ran like a well oiled machine. i turned up early and was called in before my appointment time.
The radiographer told me that there had been some anomalies seen on my films.
Things which were not visible at the last mammogram.
I asked if they had seen a lump?
'No - what we can see are calcifications. Chalky deposits, which are present in 50% of women of your age....these can occasionally signify a pre-malignant condition caled Ductal Carcinoma in Situ or DCIS for short'.
So that was my explanation.
The radiographer told me that she would do some magnified mammograms of the area....and they would be done from different angles so that the position could be easily plotted in case they needed to do core biopsies.
Thsi was done and I was allowed back into the waiting room where himself was mentally chewing his fingernails(he can't do it practically because he has dentures).
My films went off to be seen by the radiological consutant....a slip of a girl who did not seem old enough to be allowed to do a paper round.
Within a few minutes my name was being called and I was being shown into a different consulting room where I would be examined and have an ultrasound done.
When all this palaver was completed, the consultant said I needed these 'stereo-tactic core biopsies'.
This was to allow samples of the tissue to be taken and sent off to be looked at to determine exactly what was going on.
These would entail six or eight needles going into my breast(all under x-ray control). I asked when this would be done.
'Now' said the consultant.
I said that I had a problem with this.
I did not want needle biopsies done.
This was not because i was scared of the procedure(though, in truth I was). I explained that when I have had previous breat lumps, they wanted to do these needle biopsies and I politely but firmly declined them.
I explained that I had read that this type of biopsy could spread tumour cells into healthy breast tissue.
If the tissue being removed was benign, then a needle biopsy posed no problems, but if it was not benign then it posed real problems.
So I told them I would not have it done and were there other options?
'Not really - but we could watch and wait'
When would I have another mammogram(not that I was really getting used to this procedure). I thought they would say we will repeat the mammogram in six months or a year...but no it would be in three years time.
the upshot was they sent a clinical nurse specialist in to see me, with a view to making me see sense.
The clinical nurse specialist said that this core biopsy was very unlikely to spread live tumour cells...that the incidence of this happening was 0.001%.
I told her that these figures meant nothing at all if I was the poor unfortunate 0.001%.
That it would affect me 100%.
They would discuss my case at the multi-discipinary team meeting and see what they thought was best.....and she would ring me the following day.
I was allowed to go.
I explained all this to himself. Though I had a strong suspicion that it had gone right over his head.
He said I should have had the biopsy done...he said they know what they are talking about...you don't know every thing.
i told him that in the time since the recall letter had dropped on the mat I had spent time researching all the options and that no way was I having the needle biopsy.
So another wait was on the cards.
Except this time I did feel much more reassured.
I reasoned that if all that was visible were very small chalky deposits then if it were malignant, it was very early......and treatable.
Mentally, I prepared myself for both outcomes...and although I was concerned, I was not worried.
To be continued.
You know when you have been for something that you didn't much care for...then you find out you have to do it all again......well i had that kind of trepidation feeling, but despite all reassurances in my letter, I have to say I was concerned.
The letter told me that I was one of the 1 in 20 who get a recall. It also said that many of these recalls were for technical reasons and that only 1 in 4 would be diagnosed with cancer.
My sensible head was telling me that as I could neither see or feel any abnormailty, the stats were in my favour...but I wasn't sure I actually felt reassured.
I took himself along with me for the resit.
Goodness knows why as he is not much good in a crisis.
The one stop Breast Screening Clinic at Burnley General is very well run and they aim to give the ladies definitive answers in one visit.
The clinic ran like a well oiled machine. i turned up early and was called in before my appointment time.
The radiographer told me that there had been some anomalies seen on my films.
Things which were not visible at the last mammogram.
I asked if they had seen a lump?
'No - what we can see are calcifications. Chalky deposits, which are present in 50% of women of your age....these can occasionally signify a pre-malignant condition caled Ductal Carcinoma in Situ or DCIS for short'.
So that was my explanation.
The radiographer told me that she would do some magnified mammograms of the area....and they would be done from different angles so that the position could be easily plotted in case they needed to do core biopsies.
Thsi was done and I was allowed back into the waiting room where himself was mentally chewing his fingernails(he can't do it practically because he has dentures).
My films went off to be seen by the radiological consutant....a slip of a girl who did not seem old enough to be allowed to do a paper round.
Within a few minutes my name was being called and I was being shown into a different consulting room where I would be examined and have an ultrasound done.
When all this palaver was completed, the consultant said I needed these 'stereo-tactic core biopsies'.
This was to allow samples of the tissue to be taken and sent off to be looked at to determine exactly what was going on.
These would entail six or eight needles going into my breast(all under x-ray control). I asked when this would be done.
'Now' said the consultant.
I said that I had a problem with this.
I did not want needle biopsies done.
This was not because i was scared of the procedure(though, in truth I was). I explained that when I have had previous breat lumps, they wanted to do these needle biopsies and I politely but firmly declined them.
I explained that I had read that this type of biopsy could spread tumour cells into healthy breast tissue.
If the tissue being removed was benign, then a needle biopsy posed no problems, but if it was not benign then it posed real problems.
So I told them I would not have it done and were there other options?
'Not really - but we could watch and wait'
When would I have another mammogram(not that I was really getting used to this procedure). I thought they would say we will repeat the mammogram in six months or a year...but no it would be in three years time.
the upshot was they sent a clinical nurse specialist in to see me, with a view to making me see sense.
The clinical nurse specialist said that this core biopsy was very unlikely to spread live tumour cells...that the incidence of this happening was 0.001%.
I told her that these figures meant nothing at all if I was the poor unfortunate 0.001%.
That it would affect me 100%.
They would discuss my case at the multi-discipinary team meeting and see what they thought was best.....and she would ring me the following day.
I was allowed to go.
I explained all this to himself. Though I had a strong suspicion that it had gone right over his head.
He said I should have had the biopsy done...he said they know what they are talking about...you don't know every thing.
i told him that in the time since the recall letter had dropped on the mat I had spent time researching all the options and that no way was I having the needle biopsy.
So another wait was on the cards.
Except this time I did feel much more reassured.
I reasoned that if all that was visible were very small chalky deposits then if it were malignant, it was very early......and treatable.
Mentally, I prepared myself for both outcomes...and although I was concerned, I was not worried.
To be continued.