BIRAD 5... but there's still hope!! ♡

Anonymous

BIRAD 5... but there's still hope!! ♡

twinmamax2plus1

Sorry it's so long... but hey, its good bathroom reading. hahaha!

I'm a newbie but ever since 2.5 weeks ago have been frantically reading all of your posts! I am 43, wife and a mom of two sets of twins and one singleton in between. My life is busy!!! (before u ask... YES the twins were "natural", NO I did no fertility things, they were created "the old fashioned way! hahaha) So I live a hectic but blessed life!

Fast forward to two months ago.... out of nowhere I suffered a stroke. Went to bed "normal" woke and couldn't speak right. I didn't even go to hospital for 2 days bc I no idea what was going on & thought it was bc I took a muscle relaxer ( for restless leg syndrome) & I thought it would "wear off". I was hospitalized for 5 days and bc of complcations with other incidental findings decided i would switch care to The Mayo Clinic. (its local)

In order to be seen at Mayo they make you do a standard physical. I had never had a mammogram before so they told me to get it out of the way, to "have one on file". Sure. Okay. So i get 3D mammo... the very next morning they call back and say I need a diagnostic mammo and ultrasound, ultrasound guided biopsy. I'm like "whaaa??" Ummmm i dont know how this normally goes, but isnt this escalating kinda quickly? I go back for diagnostic mammo and ultrasound and the radiologist comes in and re-does the ultrasound again herself... she sits me up and then proceeds to tell me she thinks I have breast cancer. She says they will do a biopsy to be sure, but she wants me to prepare myself bc she believes it's cancer. She said even if biopsy comes back negative, she would highly recommend to remove it bc she's THAT suspicious. She sat down & even explained to my parents (bc they drove me since i couldnt drive from stroke) I mean... telling my parents= sh!t just got real!!! Meanwhile the staff is hugging me and assuring me it can be treated.... My biopsy is scheduled for a week later bc I had to go off blood thinners from stroke. I see my paperwork in portal: BIRAD 5. Ouch. I literally lose my mind internally for that week. I tried to keep it together for my family but the stroke makes controlling emotions really hard. Biopsy day comes. Again, nurses try to reassure me how there are advancements in B.C. that I'll be okay. I go home and have to wait fri and the whole damn weekend. I never HATED a weekend so badly my whole life!!! Monday I waited til 2:00 and HAD to call. I couldn't reach my doctor so i called the nurse navigator and BEGGED her to have mercy on a stroke survivor that is SUPPOSED to be keeping blood pressure down. (YEAH RIGHT!!) She puts me on hold....... i get my pen and paper ready so i can write the type, grade, receptors etc.... comes back and says it's not protocol for her to tell me BUT she said, "omg I have THE BEST NEWS ever... it's NOT CANCER!!!" She said ,"we are all over here cheering!! We were all POSITIVE it was. We think it's nothing short of a MIRACLE!!" To say I was stunned was an understatement. I couldn't even say anything. I just sat there with tears streaming down my face a my jaw completely dropped open. I was completely resigned to the knowledge that doctors and nurses at MAYO thought I had cancer. For 13 days I whole (broken)heartedly believed I did. I wrestled, prayed, sobbed my guts out, and then decided to just trust Gods plan...Good or bad. i know He surrendered His life.. so would i.... They said there was a 3%-5% chance its some benign condition. And for those of you waiting, praying and hoping.... I was that teeny tiny %. There's HOPE!!!♡

In a weird way im almost afraid to believe it... It was incredibly hard to digest when they told me they thought it was cancer. Its somehow almost as hard to hear that its not now. Is that weird? I still have to have a lumpectomy to remove the suspicious area and they will test all of it again to be certain. But for now, the 5 samples they took showed no malignancy.

I certainly don't want to offer false hope to anyone... but I wanted you gals (& guys) to know that it CAN happen. No matter what your biopsy shows... know that YOU CAN DO THIS!!!! My sincerest prayers are with each of you... reading all off your stories, hearing your unique voices in your struggles & triumphs have helped me feel like I'm not alone during this heart wrenching time. Thank you SOOOO much for sharing your journeys.♡

Meow13

So glad to hear it was benign. When I heard "you have cancer", I froze and started thinking of my life and my children. I thought for sure I would be gone by now. But I am still here with no return of cancer yet, 7 years but the threat of recurrence still looms.