This is me clowning around with my friend the mammographer-you can't see her in this pic, but I promise you she was there. There are things you want to get done when you have to have chemo. I got my teeth cleaned, had a pap smear and colored my hair all before chemo started because those are things you don't want to do during your 6 month stint. My onc said I could do the mammogram later with no worries so I waited a couple months.
I have a friend that worked in the breast center at the hospital where I was receiving my care so I decided to have her do it instead of where I usually go. I've been getting mammograms since the age of 32 because my sister was diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer at the age of 36. The type of mammogram I was to receive this time however was called a diagnostic mammogram, you see you get special treatment when you already have cancer.
Things went as expected. I couldn't much tell the difference. The only real difference was the fact that when my friend left to have the doctor look at my pictures she came back and said the doctor wanted to speak with me. As it turns out my pictures showed something unexpected.
Because the mammographer is my friend I was able to see the doctor that day, because the mammographer is my friend the doctor scheduled a biopsy for the following day and because I am your friend I am going to spare you the details of that biopsy.
I will say I absolutely hope you never have the pleasure.
Turns out you can have 2 primary cancers at the ripe old age of 47. And I did. Turns out I had what's called DCIS. AKA Stage 0 breast cancer. Turns out the type of DCIS I had was aggressive and with a family history and high tumor grade it was strongly suggested that I have a double mastectomy. Turns out I had that mastectomy in November after I competed chemotherapy for Stage 3 Colon Cancer. Turns out life can sometimes keep giving you lemons even when you've had your fill of fucking lemonade.
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