Monday, October 23, 2023

Monday, October 23, 2023

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2002. This was Mattie's first Halloween. He was 6 months old. I literally put him on one of our chairs and propped up a pumpkin next to him. His natural instinct was to reach for the pumpkin. So I snapped that moment in time. In other words.... baby's first Halloween. 

Quote of the day: I wish I had done everything on earth with you. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

Early afternoon, I headed to the hospital, with my mom in tow. I had an automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) scheduled. I have never done the automated version of this testing before, so I did not know what to expect. My doctor ordered this additional testing, and wants me to do this as part of my annual screening. 

Obviously this photo is not of me, but I downloaded it from the internet, so you could see what the machine looks like. 

My tech's name was Cheryl. Just a delightful young woman. She asked me routine questions before I went to lie down on the table. First question that she wanted to know was whether I could be pregnant. I laughed! That would not only be interesting, but it would be a miracle. When she looked at my age and then looked at me, she questioned me. Basically she said I did not look my age. She already won me over, since the last few weeks I have had were hellish.

An Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) is a newer approach to finding up to 30 percent more cancers in women who have dense breast tissue (more fibrous or glandular than fatty), even if that is their only additional risk factor. ABUS can be used to detect additional cancer in women where mammography alone may be insufficient due to their greater breast density. Using ultrasound, there is no ionizing radiation and ABUS is a quick, painless (well that is questionable), and an effective way to image dense breasts.

This testing took me about 30 minutes today, and Cheryl took three images on each side. It literally felt like your chest was in a vice and when the machine went over me, it felt like a very strong rolling pin. What I learned today was Cheryl became a tech, working specifically with women, because her mom died at the age of 46 from breast cancer. She told me she has been doing extensive testing for herself since the age of 26. Therefore, she was very clear and compassionate about the fears, questions, and concerns! Now I wait 3-4 days for results. Honestly I have to put this stress in some sort of box, because if I focus on this, I won't be able to function. If I don't function my whole household comes to a crashing halt. It is a lot of pressure on any given day. 

The highlight of my day was a very slow walk with Sunny and I got him to actually eat and take his chemo today. I celebrate the small wins here.