MY LIFE Matters: TNBC Patient Voices Issue 2022 - 41

chance of me having breast
cancer and that this is not
a simple benign galactocele
(milk cyst).
I was frantic and impaLOSE
YOURSELF ANGEL Advocate
Three days later on July 26, 2021, about
I was in the middle of draining
a breast abscess from one of
my patients when I received
the news. I logged in quickly
thinking this is probably just
another type of alert. I had
no idea I would be checking
results on my phone that
would forever change my life.
sonogram. " I replied " NO, " and that I
wanted to proceed with the mammogram
as ordered.
I did experience some discomfort, but
nothing intolerable. My nerves were the
most pressing ailment of the visit. I did
see the breast lesion on the screen, but
again I was only thinking " this is just a
milk cyst. " About two days later, I received
the mammogram report findings
stating " benign appearing galactocele
consistent with patient's reported history
of recent breastfeeding. Repeat sonogram
in three months. " I was reassured after
reading this report. I went on with my
normal life activities. Another two days
passed when another radiologist called
me to say, " After reviewing the images,
the margins on this mass look suspicious
and you should have a biopsy. " My heart
sank! I immediately knew there was a
tient at that point. I was
upset, mad, and crying! I
couldn't wait to be contacted
by the breast care specialist
as instructed by the
radiologist. I dialed into the
breast center right away to
schedule a biopsy. My husband
drove me to the breast
biopsy appointment because
I needed moral support.
Unfortunately, my husband
was not allowed to stay with
me during the entire procedure
due to COVID-19
visitor restrictions. As a
result, I had endured the
unsteadiness of the feelings
associated with this biopsy
alone. I began to pray as I
was laying on the procedure
table. The radiologist was
pleasant and talked to me
a great deal. As he started
the sonogram before the
biopsy, I was also looking
at the screen and remember
saying to him " those
margins do look irregular
and suspicious. " We struck
up a conversation about my profession
as a medical provider as well, so now he
talked to me more in depth about the
procedure. I was still hopeful at that
point and thinking " OK, he will try
to aspirate this cyst first and if milk is
drained then we know it's not cancerous
and can stop the procedure. " Well unfortunately,
the physician was not able to
aspirate any fluid from the breast lesion
and he proceeded to do the full biopsy. I
immediately began to cry because at this
point, I felt it was not a benign finding.
The radiologist tried his best to reassure
me saying, " Let's just wait for pathology
because this can be another type of benign
cyst in nature. You will get a phone
call to discuss the results in about three
days. " The biopsy was done on a Friday,
and I just remembered having a very long
and dreary weekend.
four hours into my 12-hour shift at about
3:40 p.m. in the afternoon, I received
the dreaded news in a very insensitive
manner. I RECEIVED MY BREAST
CANCER DIAGNOSIS FROM A PHONE
ALERT PATIENT PORTAL EMAIL
NOTIFICATION! I was in the middle
of draining a breast abscess from one of
my patients when I received the news. I
logged in quickly thinking this is probably
just another type of alert. I had no
idea I would be checking results on my
phone that would forever change my life.
I looked at the report and read the pathology
findings showing triple-negative
breast cancer, grade 3. My heart dropped!
I dropped everything and went to the
physician's lounge to pull up the report
on a desktop because I was thinking,
" This has to be a mistake, or I am not
reading this clearly. " I printed out the
report and read it multiple times and
could not believe it! I asked my attending
supervising physician working with me
that day to review my report as well to
ensure this was correct. I barely knew my
attending physician at that time because
I had recently started working at this new
hospital a few weeks prior. He read it as
well and confirmed the horrific news.
I grabbed my phone again and tried to
dial Kaiser Permanente Breast Center
and was not able to reach a physician
directly. I could not even think clearly
at that point and was erratic. I left work
and went home. I am not even sure how
I made it home because it was all a blur.
Thankfully, I only lived 15 minutes away
from the hospital.
When I pulled into the driveway, I sat
in the car for a while. I paged the physician
and was speaking to an on-call
nurse. She was confirming the results,
but I was demanding to speak to a physician
to confirm such devastating news.
My husband came out to the driveway,
and he immediately dropped to the
ground in tears. He knew something
was wrong because I was home eight
hours early from work and that has never
happened. I never spoke to a physician
that day. I told the nurse that I was informed
by the radiologist that someone
would call me with the results. I wasn't
supposed to receive an email notification.
MY LIFE MATTERS
TNBC PATIENT VOICES ISSUE 2022
41
MY LIFE Matters: TNBC Patient Voices Issue 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MY LIFE Matters: TNBC Patient Voices Issue 2022
