Thursday, September 9th

The Breast MRI-

For those of you who have never had an MRI or a Breast MRI, I will explain this test in one word...hell. Picture yourself laying face down, boobs hanging down into these holes of the table, arms extended overhead, IV in arm to inject you with dye half way through. This is all pretty easy so far. Now put a fire alarm right next to you ear. Try not to move either. My adrenaline was PUMPING and I did my best to lie perfectly still but wow is that an inhospitable environment. Oh did I forget to mention that your shoulders are burning after an hour of lying in that position and the rod supporting my chest has basically chiseled a perfect outline/groove into my chest. Anyway it's over now and not something I will never look forward to again.

As for the genetic testing, I spoke with a genetic counselor and we decided that since my decision for surgery was not dependent on the genetic testing, we should just wait until this ordeal is over and then we'll meet and determine if there is enough "risk" to actually go through with the expensive genetic test!

My decision has pretty much been made since after my first appointment with Dr. Winchester. Once I found out a mastectomy was a viable option, there was no turning back. For me, at 37, there is a lot of life I'd like to live and if I'm worrying about any type of reccurance, or even a new cancer, I'm not living to my full potential. With all of that being said, I'd still like to hear the results of the MRI. This will point us in the right direction for sure!

Many thanks to our friends, Carol & Dr. Jack Gelman, a plastic surgeon, who shared so much valuable information with us. If only you knew how much that information helped both of us. We will be informed patients asking all the right questions.