Julie can't eat cheese

Everything started when I was in Sedona with friends. Our fancy hotel only had 2 washcloths in the bathroom. Someone had used one and I didn’t want to use the last one so decided to hand wash instead of calling and waiting for more. We’d been hiking and I use natural deodorant (which means I stink if I sweat!) and I felt a weird lump near my left arm pit (this was on 9/11/2022). Something told me not to ignore it and I got on my Kaiser app to schedule a mammogram.

I wasn’t able to schedule via the app, so called for an appt the next day. I was told I would need to see my primary care doctor first for a referral for a higher level of imaging since I already found a lump. I tried scheduling online on 9/12 but the first available appt was the first week of Oct and we would be out of town. I tried emailing my doctor as I was flying home/traveling that day and was told to call the office to schedule asap.

I was lucky to get in to see my PCP on 9/14. While there he did a breast cancer screening and found my risk of having cancer was under 2%. He could feel the lump and sent in the referral for the mammogram and ultrasound right then. He also ordered general blood labs – which I was able to get in right after my appt.

I called that afternoon to schedule my mammogram and ultrasound for the first available appointment the following week on 9/20.

I started getting lab results back in the afternoon of 9/14. All were normal, except one – which I had never heard of, but a Google search told me high levels could be from asthma, allergies… cancer. I emailed my doctor that afternoon and asked if I should worry about the levels or wait until after imaging. He replied on 9/16 that No, we wouldn’t worry yet as there could be a few different causes.

I had my *first ever* mammogram on 9/20. People complain about them – but it really wasn’t bad. The worst part was actually in my sternum just trying to get images of the lump, as it is higher up on the left side. They took several images, then I waited while the radiologist reviewed the images. She wanted a few more images taken to get better views. Then it was into ultrasound for different images. The tech took images, the radiologist reviewed those and then came in to talk to me. I knew it wasn’t good when she came in – she wouldn’t look me in the eye, she kept sighing and repeating “Ok… Ok…” She did an additional ultrasound and kept looking past the lump into my armpit as well. I think she finally said something to the effect of she didn’t like what she was seeing and I would need a biopsy. I was immediately ushered into a room with a scheduler, who called the Tacoma Medical Center to schedule. I scheduled a biopsy for the following week on 9/27.

After I got home from the mammogram, I got a text from Kaiser for a phone appt in 30 minutes. My PCP called to discuss the imaging. He said at this point, we would start to worry. He said what they found on the left side (the lump and surrounding lymph nodes) was concerning and they would be moving forward as though it is breast cancer. He said I was high on his priority list and he’d make sure I didn’t fall through the cracks. He said the breast cancer department was very proactive and while there was a chance it could still be benign, they needed to do more testing to know for sure.

I was scheduled on 9/27 for my first image guided core needle biopsy. The biopsy took tissue samples from the lump and the lymph nodes that were also noted to be concerning. The radiologist had a hard time getting samples from the lymph nodes, stating they were small and “small is good.” He said he didn’t see the lymph nodes as concerning, but that I should expect my next appointment to be with surgery (either for cancer treatment or to have the mass removed). He didn’t sugar coat it – he also found the mass concerning. They put titanium clips in near where they take the samples and I had to do a mammogram after the biopsy so they could get images of the markers. The MA told me when I was leaving I would see the results in my online chart pop up before someone called me to discuss results. She said a nurse would call me as soon as they could once results were in, so I could wait for the call.

Yea no, I HATE surprises. I got a text from Kaiser that I had a new lab result on 9/30 and logged in right away.

It said Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.