Matters of the [breast]
Around July I felt a lump in my breast. It was right before the move, I think. I was exclusively breastfeeding and Grey had thrush. I've had clogged ducts before so I know how painful those feel. This was not painful, just a knot. I thought I would keep an eye on it and see if it went away from nursing. Sometimes babies pull clogs right out from the suction. Since I pump so much, I feel the tissures of my breasts often.
Around October it was still there. I told my mom and my mentor at school and they both told me I should probably see someone soon. After calling a few gynecology offices and having a 2-week to 1 month wait, a receptionists told me my quickest solution would be to visit an urgent care facility. That night I went to Doctor's Express down the street from my house. I saw an older doctor who examined me (with a nurse watching). He wrote an order for a mammogram at the Women's Imaging Center at Beaufort Memorial and follow-up with a surgeon.
Two weeks later, at the age of 34, I went for my first mammogram. I wasn't nervous or scared even though mammograms have a bad reputation. My pain tolerance is high. First, you enter a dressing/waiting room that has a cape, an upholstered bench and white noise playing. Then the technician doing the mammogram (I don't know her title) gets you. This lady was super friendly and made me feel very comfortable. She asked me some questions and explained what she was doing before she did. She did about 5 different angles and I didn't feel a thing! Since I am lactating, milk would squirt out occasionally. She offered me pieces of chocolate. Based on what they saw, they didn't see any concerns and sent me on my way. I really left without an explanation so I still scheduled a follow-up appt. with a surgeon. Mammograms do not catch everything. Especially women who are younger than 40 have denser breasts and an ultrasound analyzes them more thoroughly.
I had an appt. in the middle of November that was cancelled by the doctor and then another rescheduled for Wednesday, November 27. At first he was thinking it was milk clogged in a gland until he did the ultrasound. The ultrasound tech measured it and it wasn't connected to a duct like he was orginally thinking. He asked how long I was going to nurse and I responded as long as I could. He said he wasn't too concerned about it. If he were, he would suggest a biopsy right now or tell me to stop nursing and come back in two weeks. If he were to do a biopsy now, it would be messy and milk would probably come out of the incision. He is suspecting some kind of cyst, but wants me to come back in 3 months so they can measure it again to see if it has grown. Of course, if I notice any changes or tenderness, I am to call for an appointment. My next appt. is the end of February so I will post an update next year.
R
Around October it was still there. I told my mom and my mentor at school and they both told me I should probably see someone soon. After calling a few gynecology offices and having a 2-week to 1 month wait, a receptionists told me my quickest solution would be to visit an urgent care facility. That night I went to Doctor's Express down the street from my house. I saw an older doctor who examined me (with a nurse watching). He wrote an order for a mammogram at the Women's Imaging Center at Beaufort Memorial and follow-up with a surgeon.
Two weeks later, at the age of 34, I went for my first mammogram. I wasn't nervous or scared even though mammograms have a bad reputation. My pain tolerance is high. First, you enter a dressing/waiting room that has a cape, an upholstered bench and white noise playing. Then the technician doing the mammogram (I don't know her title) gets you. This lady was super friendly and made me feel very comfortable. She asked me some questions and explained what she was doing before she did. She did about 5 different angles and I didn't feel a thing! Since I am lactating, milk would squirt out occasionally. She offered me pieces of chocolate. Based on what they saw, they didn't see any concerns and sent me on my way. I really left without an explanation so I still scheduled a follow-up appt. with a surgeon. Mammograms do not catch everything. Especially women who are younger than 40 have denser breasts and an ultrasound analyzes them more thoroughly.
I had an appt. in the middle of November that was cancelled by the doctor and then another rescheduled for Wednesday, November 27. At first he was thinking it was milk clogged in a gland until he did the ultrasound. The ultrasound tech measured it and it wasn't connected to a duct like he was orginally thinking. He asked how long I was going to nurse and I responded as long as I could. He said he wasn't too concerned about it. If he were, he would suggest a biopsy right now or tell me to stop nursing and come back in two weeks. If he were to do a biopsy now, it would be messy and milk would probably come out of the incision. He is suspecting some kind of cyst, but wants me to come back in 3 months so they can measure it again to see if it has grown. Of course, if I notice any changes or tenderness, I am to call for an appointment. My next appt. is the end of February so I will post an update next year.
R
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