Monday, March 17, 2008

"You'll Have the Results in a Couple of Days"

I went to the radiology for the spot mammogram. They checked out the ex-rays and told me to stick around until 12:15 for a sonogram. 

I tried to get a clue from the sonogram technician, which shows you how terrified I was, since they're not allowed to tell you anything even if they knew.

"So, I guess they saw something on the mammogram that they want to check out, huh?" I said, with all of the nonchalance of somebody about to be executed.

"They want to look at it from another angle."

"It?"

"Yes. The mammogram looks at it from one angle, and then the sonogram looks at it from another angle."

Okay, but nobody's telling me what "it" they're looking at. "It! The Terror From Beyond Space"? "It, the Thing That's Going to Spread Through My Body And Kill Me"?

Hopefully, "it" will turn out to be benign, or at least very, very small.

Update, from the doctor's office:

"Benign breast tissue with calcifications."

"Benign breast cyst."

"Recommend follow-up in six months."

Whew!!!

Now, on to all of those good deeds I promised I would do.

Comments:
My guess is that they know it is a regular benign spot they've been seen a million times for years and years.

However, I think the new trend is since "it" could be something, they are guaranteed that extra money every six months to take a look see. I get pissed everytime because I feel like I'm getting ripped off because the test is unnecessary. But since they can convince me "it" might really be something, they still get my money. And they know they will. And they even told you on a Friday so you could really fret over it for a couple extra days.

Hey, I'm all for preventative measures, but that doesn't change my mind that there are unscrupulous medical providers out there that will make a buck where they can by playing on our fears. "Ah, their insurance will cover it." Well, not everyone has fantastic insurance and end up having to pay that kind of stuff out of pocket.

OK, thanks for letting me jump on my soapbox there for a minute.

So glad you got a good report!
 
Hi, Judy!

Yeah, I feel as if I'm being emotionally blackmailed, and part of me wants to say "Ah, screw 'em, I'm not coming in to take sixty million tests."

Except that on the off chance that I really do have something, I'd feel like I was cutting off my nose to spite my face. Except that wouldn't be what I was cutting off.
 
OH, YAY, MELINDA!!!!

Everyone deserves a reprieve, but especially you. Go buy yourself something else to enjoy for the next nice long time!

I put myself through this not long ago. I hadn't had a mammogram in something like 14 years. I was the one who thought I felt a lump. I went back and forth: "It feels a lot like the lumpy stuff on the other side . . . but it's harder on this side . . ."

They looked at it every which way, including the close up, the sonogram, etc. They didn't see anything.
 
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