I mentioned a few weeks ago that I had some breast lumps that had been detected and required  removal. Last Friday I underwent a lumpectomy, where they surgically remove the lumps from my chest and send them off for testing.

The first part of the procedure was conducted under the guidance of an ultrasound machine, where the doctor inserted a wire into each of the lumps (or as close to it as possible). This helps to pinpoint where the lumps are when they later perform the surgery to remove them. First I had a local anesthetic to numb the area, then using a big needle the wire is inserted. The needle is removed, however the wire remains in place until the surgery. The photo above shows the side of my breast where the wires have been inserted (hidden by the patch) and taped in place to the side of my body.

Normally I’m totally fine with needles and the resulting pain, but I have to say the wire bit was pretty excruciating. I’ve donated blood before so I’m used to thick needles without any pain killers, and I’ve also had a general where they insert the drip in your hand. All hurt, but they’re generally a breeze. One of the lumps was located at the 12 o’clock position in respect to my nipple, and was large enough that it extended to the other side of my breast. So while the local anesthetic inserted in one side of my breast meant that I couldn’t feel the wire to begin with, I sure as hell could feel it when he was pushing the wire through to the other side! I had a clenched mouth and fist, and the nurse could see I was in pain, but I managed to steel myself through it.

Once that was over and done with I was led to the pre-surgery room for weighing, blood pressure tests and multiple questions. I changed into the special purple hospital gown, was given “Cinderella boots” (as the nurse called them) that were basically like shower caps that went over your feet. There should be fashion parades in the surgical clinics, the outfits are incredibly sexy. I was then led to a waiting room where approximately 5 or 6 of us sat there in a depressed silence, watching morning tv and reading decades old magazines. Did you know that Princess Diana and Prince Charles separated?!

Eventually I was taken to another room, put on a bed under a super awesome inflatable heated blanket (omg I want one for home during the winter) and had a nap for 20mins while they prepared themselves for the surgery. In a matter of minutes I had the drip inserted into my arm, confirmed with the surgeon and her assistant the wires were in as well as showing them my boob again (in total at least 6 people saw my boobs that day), and was put to sleep.

I woke up a few hours later when I could hear the nurse phone C to say that he could come back to pick me up. It took a few attempts for me to wake up though, before I finally became alert and could stand up. I was assisted in walking over to the locker room to change back into my clothes, then seated in a recliner while I was given some lunch to eat and a milo. A sandwich cut in quarters and a milo will fix anything. It’s the solution to war I tell you! Just go sit the Taliban down, give them a few quarter sangas and a milo and talk peace. They’ll be all for it.

My knight in shining armor arrived to pick me up, where I found him in his own world of hurt. He’d had a wisdom tooth pulled out and could barely talk, and due to having one side of his mouth completely numb, he even dribbled a little. Hot stuff! He earned himself a thousand brownies though by only caring at my own level of comfort, but other than being tired I was fine. C even dropped off dinner that night to me, before taking off for his basketball trip to Canberra (that’s another story).

Since the surgery I’ve been lucky enough to have little to no pain. I still have stitches in, which will be removed this coming Friday. The area has felt a bit itchy a few times due to the waterproof patch that’s still on my chest covering the stitches, and the first night I had to sleep in a bra with a pillow under my boob so that I was comfortable. Let me assure you that sleeping with a pillow under your boob isn’t an easy task when your chest is pretty small to begin with. One slight move and it slides right off!

Both lumps have been tested previously and come back as benign, so I’m not concerned about the results when I get them on Friday. Of course, I have contemplated hearing bad news, but there’s really no point stressing over anything. I know I have the strength to deal with it if that were to happen, and I also know I have the best support group in the form of my friends and family, and now even C and his family. His mother has messaged me daily to make sure I’m ok – she’s so sweet (I know where C gets it from now).

Amazingly, when I showed my mother the location of the cut to remove the lumps, she pointed out it was in the exact same spot as where her cancer was when she beat breast cancer. Note the terminology there; she certainly didn’t suffer from the evil disease, she conquered the fucker! Go Mum!

So to wind it all up, just a little reminder for all the ladies. Make sure you’re checking your breasts daily! It’s better to be safe than sorry! Even if (when) the results come back to say it wasn’t cancer, I can sleep easy knowing that the risk of my getting anything has been greatly reduced.

My life is worth the time it takes to check my breasts. Is yours?

For more information on Breast Cancer, or donate towards research for a cure, please visit the National Breast Cancer Foundation website.

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Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on the way you look at it) the Chiro determined I had a few discs in my spine out of alignment at the top of my neck (under the skull where the stiffness was), and also mild scoliosis. She sent me for xrays to be safe, and to determine exactly what was going on. Thankfully it turned out to be nowhere near as bad as the image on the wikipedia page for scoliosis although I was still going to need some treatment to help loosen up all the stiff muscles etc. A picture of my xray is on the left – imagine that what you’re seeing is meant to be straight, and you’ll immediately see the difference.

When she first did her examinations, the Chiro pressed lightly on a spot at the top of my neck which almost made me cry out in pain. She confirmed that was one of the troublesome bones. She has cracked the centre of my back where all the discs are tightened up, and also my neck to loosen it. She then used this cool contraption which she likened to “a small punch” to help push the discs into their correct position. Both times I’ve had this done now, I get a feeling of bulging eyes for about half an hour after treatment, its quite bizarre. After the first appointment, I stupidly cracked my neck by habit that night and immediately got a headache, so was pretty sure I’d put the disc out of alignment again. I had my last treatment almost 48 hours ago, and have been extremely focused on not cracking my neck. It’s amazing how much of a habit it’s become – I’ve stopped myself on at least 3 or 4 occasions today alone!

It looks like I’ll be visiting the Chiro twice a week for a while to sort out my issues. I’ve also started to take up yoga as a way to “strengthen my core”, and increase the flexibility in my spine. Hopefully all of this combined will prevent any more issues for the future, and at the same time increase my level of fitness. That will be really handy when combined with the fact the netball superleague season has just started, so hopefully I won’t be putting my back under too much pressure every game. Anyways, I’ll keep you posted on my progress to see how it all works out, but I can just say – THANK GOD FOR HEALTH INSURANCE.

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