You might be wondering how I have the info I do. When it looked like we might be dealing with cancer I told Lindsie that if she would like I would accompany her and Josh to any and all appointments they wished so I could take notes, absorb information, and help them ask questions. Having watched members of my own family go through similar things I know that it is hard to remember anything we hear when we are in shock and it's also a good idea for everyone to have someone to advocate for them in the medical world. I wanted to do that for Lindsie if that was something she wanted. She has wanted that so far and so I have been in all of her appointments trying to keep all the information straight.
I'm not going to go into what lead Lindsie to get the mammogram that started this whole thing. I'll leave that to her if and when she feels like sharing it. I'm also not going to talk much about Lindsie or Josh's feelings or reactions. I'll leave that to them as well. I'm just the information and updates girl. I warned you. Boring. Well, we may as well get started so we can get done.
On Monday, February 9th on the recommendation of her family doctor Lindsie went in for a mammogram and an ultrasound of her breasts. As she tells it, when the mammogram was finished the tech told her it was "not good". That was not exactly comforting. When she went to the ultrasound room the actual radiologist (the doctor who reads scans and sends findings to your doctor, but who pretty much never interacts with patients during tests) came in and wanted to look for herself. When she was finished she told Lindsie she found "many large masses consistent with cancer" in her right breast and that she would need a biopsy. Lindsie was alone at this appointment, something I still kick myself for. But nobody could know she would get that type of news at the actual appointment. A patient usually hears back from their own doctor in a day or two, not while sitting there in the exam.
Lindsie had already been scheduled for a biopsy the following Tuesday the 17th based on her family doctor's orders. A week is a really long time to wait, plus another 3-4 days for results after that. The next day the radiologist called and said she had an opening for the biopsy that coming Friday, the 13th. Better, but not optimal for stress levels.
During the biopsy procedure, which Josh attended, the doctor removed 9 sections of tissue from three different masses, including the lymph node. We would have to wait the weekend for results, which was torturous. Lindsie felt pretty confident the results would come back as malignant, but it was still awful to wait to know for sure and to find out what lay ahead.
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