My Journey to Health: New Developments

June-August 2015

So....where to start...I will try at the beginning...

In early June I found a tiny bump on the left side of my neck just on top of my trapezius muscle. The next morning when I went to look for it again, I could not find it, so I thought it was just a swollen lymph node that had resolved and was no longer an issue anymore.

One week later (June 8 to be precise) I went in for a routine check up with my awesome doctor Dr. R. Now, he does muscle testing and a bit of energy medicine with his conventional doctoring, and after a bit of the muscle testing he made a comment that sounded somewhat like this:

"Something is going to happen here in the next month or two that is going to seem quite terrifying and horrific, but from what I can tell it will be just the opposite. It will be actually a blessing. I want and need you to keep focused and present and keep up with everything that you are doing to stay healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually."

So, this was unexpected, but very intriguing to me at the same time. In the back of my mind I wondered if it had anything to do with the small bump I had felt on my neck, but I pushed that out of my mind. I promised myself I would keep an open mind, and I went about my business as usual doing my juicing, meditations, EFT (tapping or emotional freedom technique), prayers, etc.

Now, fast forward to mid June. Once again I find the lump on the left side of my neck in approximately the same place I thought it had been before, but I can't be for sure. Anyhow, I freak a little bit forgetting what Dr. R had told me, and I went to my father to check it out as he is also a doctor albeit an OB/GYN. He felt it noting that it was was very soft and mobile. He really felt the mobile part was a positive thing and reassured me of this, so I allowed myself to relax.

After about a week of observing it, I made an appointment for it to be looked at. I chose to go to my amazing sister as she was local and I wouldn't be able to get in to see Dr. R for another month or so. So on July 20 I went to Dr. Sister's office for my appointment. I told her what Dad had said, and she agreed adding that it felt a lot like a lipoma which is a benign tumor of sorts involving fat tissue. Just to be on the safe side and based on my history of breast cancer, she wanted to get an ultrasound of my neck. I agreed to it and left feeling better that I had made the appointment to set my mind at ease.

On the same morning as my ultrasound (Friday, July 24), I found another smaller lump just below the first one. So I was ready to get this ultrasound done with and get the results back. Whatever it was I needed to figure it out. My mind would often wander to dangerous territory, and it was uncomfortable at best. I also knew that the power of your mind is a powerful thing. Have you ever heard the phrase "thoughts become things"?

The ultrasound was quick and easy, but I did notice that she took some extra time to make lots of measurements, etc. As a CT/x-ray technologist I had helped with and chaperoned with a lot of ultrasounds, and I knew what that could mean. It was usually a measurement of some abnormality or another, so it did make me slightly uneasy.

On Sunday morning while getting ready for the day my fingers wandered to my neck, and I found another small lump just above my left clavicle. This was something I needed to let my poor doctor/sister know, so when i saw her for a family dinner at my parents', I gave her the news. She said she hadn't gotten the results to the ultrasound, but she would look first thing the next morning at the office.

The next day was my son's 4th birthday. I did my best to have an awesome day. I decorated and made treats and did some fun things throughout the day. Once Nick got home my younger brother came and took the kids out to have some fun, and lo and behold my sister and mom show up and gave me the following news. Below is the report.

So, I won't lie. I freaked out a bit again. It is never fun to be given unpleasant news especially if it drags up a person's cancer fears, and this certainly did. I did work hard to keep positive and keep up the healthy routine and lifestyle. A biopsy was scheduled for the next Monday, and the wait was not fun.

To make the story short and sweet, the biopsy was performed by a kind radiologist. He did both a few core biopsies and also a few fine needle biopsies. Here is the report for the core biopsies: