The telephone call regarding my reluctance to have the biopsies, and the MultiDisciplinary Teams recommendations came at teatime the following day.
There were two choices. Choice one was to watch and wait....I was told that this was a risky option.
Choice two was strongly recommended...this was to go ahead with the biopsies.
I had not been idle while waiting for the recommendations. Now I knew what I was dealing with it gave me more scope for research.
I had doubled my efforts in trying to find out as much as I could about my situation.
I researched and read more publications that I care to remember. I made notes, I looked at treatments, statistics, alternatives.
I told the nurse that I was still unwilling to have the needle biopsies, but told her that I had read that the DCIS produced a pattern on the x-rays that was highly suggestive of malignancy. I wanted to know if my films showed this pattern. I also knew that there were five categories called BI-rads....formulated to determine the nature of disease in the breast.
She sighed( I guessed I was proving to be a bit of a trial - though they knew I had a medical background) and said that there films were divided into five categories(yes, yes, I know that)....that category one and two were benign and could be disregarded, category three was indeterminate and had the possiblity of being either benign or malignant ...category four and five were considered malignant.
She told me that my films fell into category three...the indeterminate and needing biopsy to determine exactly what was going on.
I told her that I had read about a technique called Vacuum Assisted biopsy...and that this was far safer than the needle biopsies(from the point of view of spreading malignant cells).
I asked if they did this type of biopsy. She said they did, but did not know if I would be suitable for it(sometimes the situation of deposits prevents this type of biopsy from being effective).
She asked me if I would be willing to have this sort of biopsy. I told her that I would.
She said she would consult with her colleagues and they would recheck my films and she would phone me the following day.
to be continued.
wake up at the back there....I will be asking questions later.
There were two choices. Choice one was to watch and wait....I was told that this was a risky option.
Choice two was strongly recommended...this was to go ahead with the biopsies.
I had not been idle while waiting for the recommendations. Now I knew what I was dealing with it gave me more scope for research.
I had doubled my efforts in trying to find out as much as I could about my situation.
I researched and read more publications that I care to remember. I made notes, I looked at treatments, statistics, alternatives.
I told the nurse that I was still unwilling to have the needle biopsies, but told her that I had read that the DCIS produced a pattern on the x-rays that was highly suggestive of malignancy. I wanted to know if my films showed this pattern. I also knew that there were five categories called BI-rads....formulated to determine the nature of disease in the breast.
She sighed( I guessed I was proving to be a bit of a trial - though they knew I had a medical background) and said that there films were divided into five categories(yes, yes, I know that)....that category one and two were benign and could be disregarded, category three was indeterminate and had the possiblity of being either benign or malignant ...category four and five were considered malignant.
She told me that my films fell into category three...the indeterminate and needing biopsy to determine exactly what was going on.
I told her that I had read about a technique called Vacuum Assisted biopsy...and that this was far safer than the needle biopsies(from the point of view of spreading malignant cells).
I asked if they did this type of biopsy. She said they did, but did not know if I would be suitable for it(sometimes the situation of deposits prevents this type of biopsy from being effective).
She asked me if I would be willing to have this sort of biopsy. I told her that I would.
She said she would consult with her colleagues and they would recheck my films and she would phone me the following day.
to be continued.
wake up at the back there....I will be asking questions later.
