As previously posted, I experienced my 1st colonoscopy back in September. Well, during this time I went to get my annual mammogram and to go see my dermatologist about a mole my husband has been nagging me about getting checked.
Unfortunately, it took not only loosing a co-worker to breast cancer back in February this year, but finding out in August we have another co-worker in another office location to get diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer too! For me, this was the straw to break the camels back - so to speak - to get me in gear to have all my annual check-ups in all areas.
So, I have the dreaded colonoscopy ~ and thankfully - all was well.
In the meantime, I go to my dermatologist, he removes the mole and says, "Oh, it is just a skin tag with some slight discoloration ~ I am sure all is fine, but will send to the lab just to be sure."
2 days later I go to have my annual mammogram - I was squished, twisted and flattened!
As the next few days go by I am leaving work for the day, and check my cellphone for missed calls before leaving the parking lot. To my surprise, I have not one, but two messages from my dermatologist saying he needs to speak with me. Well, we all know it is never good when your doctor phones you. About 20 minutes after checking my messages, he calls once again. At this point, my heart is racing and.....well, you can just imagine what is going through my mind. He takes his time and explains to me how the lab results came back with signs of melanoma, and how he was even surprised by the results. He suggests I have it sent away to Dr. Raymond Barnhill, a physician at UCLA who specializes in dermatopathlogy, pathology-anatomic medicine. So, after a bunch of questions with sound answers, I agree to send it off for a second opinion. Dr. Raman explains to me if the results come back conclusive, they will cut the area out where the mole was located removing a larger area around it, as well as, deep below it. Not to mention, they will also want to go into my lymph nodes to make sure nothing is there...................WHAT??????????? MY LYMPH NODES!!!!! What exactly are you saying?
So, after my panic attack and wanting to know why - we finish our call and I play the waiting game.
As days go by, I am at work and get a call from the doctors office. I take a deep breath and take the call ~ to my surprise, it's not Dr. Raman calling.........it's the nurse from the office where I had my mammogram. She explains to me that there were some abnormalities and they needed me to return for another session to see what was going on. Well, I lost it! I explained to the nurse how at this particular moment I was totally not a fan of doctors in general and had a lot to take in. I get the calendar and schedule my next appointment as soon as possible so I can get this out of the way. My mind is so-o-o-o overwhelmed at this point, wondering, worrying and thinking thoughts I did not want to think.
A few more days pass, I have my second mammogram done and thankfully all is well - turns out they were seeing calcium deposits and nothing more..... Swiping hand across my forehead and wiping the sweat from my brow. Thank You God!
Well, within the next couple of days I get the dreaded call from Dr. Raman stating Dr. Barnhill came to the same conclusion as his lab. He wanted me to contact Dr. Sahir Shroff asap to schedule a consultation and surgery. By this time, I am just numb!
I get with my supervisor at work, look for the next available time - get with Dr. Shroff's office to schedule my consultation and surgery. At my consultation with Dr. Shroff, he explains to me they will not only remove the mole, but because of the depth - 1.05 mm with partial regression, they will also remove about a fifty cent piece radius around the mole area as well as going down under to remove enough to make sure it is all gone. He continues to explain how they will inject me with a nuclear dye to see which lymph nodes react and those will be removed to make sure the melanoma has not spread. Ok.....can you say, STRESSED! After my visit with him I go to schedule the surgery and get my date for pre-opt............and you were thinking I most likely drove to the local pub to have a glass or two to soothe my nerves. lol!
October 5th arrives and it is my surgery day - I go in at 7am - First they wheel me to my holding room so they can come take more blood, hook up my i.v. bag, and then we play the waiting game until they wheel me off to nuclear medicine.
Finally arriving in nuclear medicine they explain how they will inject me with 5 bee sting like shots. And, that is exactly what it felt like - They injected 5 shots of dye into my back around the area of the melanomas location - making a wagon wheel affect. After the dye flows through my veins, they place me on a table and slip me through a machine to take x-rays so they can see where the dye is traveling. After about 30 mins - it appears there is one location on my left side and three locations on my right. And, now it's back to the holding room until it's time for surgery.
Oh my goodness, I must tell you of this new machine they have that hooks up to your hospital gown - every woman should have one.....
it's almost like a large blow dryer, it hooks up to your gown and you turn the heat up to warm up your hospital gown....AWESOME, it was like my new best friend in the hospital. (Check them out: http://www.arizant.com/us/bairpawssystem/patient) every hospital should have them.
Well, we have always heard - No News Is Good News! Right? - Well, this is true and I got nervous every time my phone rang wondering if it were the doctors office calling to say they found something. Turns out I was out for work for another week due to deep cuts and stitches, decided to listen to the voices of reason and take my time to heal and recover.
Finally, recovery time is over - and so is rest and relaxation - time for follow-up visit and release from doctor. I arrive early for my visit because I just need to know everything is going to be ok, Dr. Shroff is running a little behind, so waiting was still and issue. Then, the nurse steps out and calls me into the exam room. Dr. Shroff arrives and comes in to go over the results. It turns out, they removed 7 lymph nodes in all - 3 from my left arm and 4 from my right arm. The cut in my back is about 4 inches long and the ones under each arm are about 2 1/2 inches long. Everything came back negative from the lymph nodes and he was successful in removing all of the melanoma from my back. The weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders and I feel a since of relief. Thank you God, once again for everything.
The moral of my story is no matter how well you take care of yourself, do please go to your doctor annually for your visits and check-ups it can save you a lot of stress and worry. Had I waited longer to go to my dermatologist, the outcome may not have been as nice, he could not have made that more clear to me.
Please check out the following site: http://www.melanomacenter.org/detection/index.html there may be some helpful information here for you are a loved one.
I am happy to report, I am slowly healing and almost have full range of motion in both arms again. My left arm has healed quite nicely and so has my back. Still working on range of motion in my right arm, I believe my tendons have to stretch a little further before they will feel 100% again. Not really liking not being able to lift light weights or being able to do cardio for now, but I know I will be able to in time.
May You All Learn A Lesson From Me - Don't Wait For Your Annual Exams - May You All Be blessed!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment