I was lying in bed and for some reason decided to do a self-exam.
To be honest, I don’t do them regularly.
Even after my best friend was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in February of this year you’d think I’d be doing them more. She posted a pic on Instagram in October similar to the one below since it was Breast Cancer Awareness month.
So I decided to do a self-exam.
And I found a lump.
I went running to my husband, Mike and had him feel for it to ensure I wasn’t imagining things and he found it too. Cue crying, cue fear-based thoughts and I immediately texted said best friend.
I called my family doctor the next morning and am so thankful they have urgent care appointments and was able to be seen that day. The on-call doctor also found the lump and requisitioned an ultrasound and mammogram.
From there I found out the waiting period is 4-6 weeks. The on-call doctor told me not to worry and to try and not think about it.
SURE. Sounds easy! Said no one ever.
So I waited and waited, tried not to think about it and tried not to feel for it every day.
I drove myself to the imaging center the day of my appointment with my mom in the passenger seat for moral support. I changed out of my shirt & bra and donned the gown they gave me.
And then it’s time for tests.
As I sat in a room with yoga pants and comfy socks on, clutching the gown around my upper body the technician came in and said everything looks normal. We didn’t find anything. First of all, I thought I’d have to wait to get the results from my family doctor but they were kind enough to let me know I was ok.
I got dressed, grabbed my mom out of the waiting room, headed back to the car and broke down with sobbing tears of relief.
I KNOW that not everyone has this experience. I KNOW the rates of breast cancer are rising. I have dear friends who have had similar fearful thoughts and have then had to endure more. I am celebrating because we need to celebrate the good in our lives. So why share this with the world? If this post causes you to go feel yourself. No seriously go feel yourself up. And I can play a small role for early detection or proactive health care then here’s to sharing the stressful parts of life with the world online.