The biopsy results are in...

It wasn't until Monday night that I really started getting nervous. In less than 24 hours, I would know. Would my life be changed forever? Or was this just a cancer scare? Statistically, only 20% of BI-RAD 4B lesions were cancerous. And most of those that are calcifications, rather than a mass, are DCIS, which is really early cancer. Very treatable. But still, it's cancer. In all honestly, I had a gut feeling. I was pretty sure it wasn't benign. I don't think I told Lisa because didn't want to freak her out. The radiologist told me on Monday that if it was benign, a nurse would call me. If it was not, the surgeon (who I never even met) would call. I had my cell phone in my pocket all morning at work. I was expecting the call in the afternoon, so my stress level jumped up when the clock ticked noon.

I was sitting at my desk at about 12:30 when my phone vibrated. Hello? I said. Hi, is this Jami? Yes. Is this a good time to talk? Sure. This is so-and-so, a nurse practitioner from the Piper Center. Great! A nurse! That means good news! Wait. You're biopsy is back and I'm afraid it came back as cancer. Ductal carcinoma in situ. I was not surprised, but still, you never really want that phone call. She went on a bit about the next step, but I didn't really hear her. She had to repeat everything. I would need a bilateral breast MRI, then a consultation with the surgeon (again). The office would be calling me later to schedule. I got her to fax me the report -DCIS, cribiform, clinging, nuclear grade 2 of 3, no necrosis, not invasive, hormone receptor immunohistochemistry pending. So again, very treatable.

I called Lisa and my mom. I told my staff, and then announced it on my weight loss Facebook page. I sort of sleep-walked through the rest of the day. I scheduled my MRI for Monday, April 4 and my surgical consult for next Thursday. That's all I know. Well, I suspect that I will have a lumpectomy followed by 6 weeks of radiation treatment, but I don't know for sure.

Everyone deals with adversity in different ways. I have come to realize that I do best with the support of many people. Hence, my very public blog. I am grateful for the help of everyone in my life, and I promise to be as open as I can be. Lisa has been awesome. She's got my back. I think that if one of us should go through something like this, it's better for it to be me. Lisa is much more nurturing and supportive. I would just tell her to buck up, it's only cancer. She's also been very clingy lately, which I love! And she even asked if I wanted to talk about our relationship! I should get cancer more often!

And I know it's only stage 0 cancer and I have a very high probability of a cure, but it still jolts you a little, you know? I am defective. I contain cells that are behaving badly. I have a much higher than average chance of more serious breast cancer in the future, even with treatment. I probably couldn't get more life insurance now! I'm high risk! I have to have a piece of me cut out. I have many more doctor appointments in my future. I have something In common with all those ladies who wear pink ribbons. I have breast cancer.