So, in February this year I had a tummy ache. Just under my rib cage as if someone had their hand in there squeezing – really hard!
I saw a nurse at the walk-in centre who thought it could be gall stones. So I saw a doctor at my practice on Wednesday 18th February. He was very thorough. I was also experiencing some pain in my chest when I took a deep breath so he had a prod around my tummy and asked me if I check my breasts regularly. I admitted that I do, but not every month so he also did a breast exam but didn’t feel anything. So he recommended an ultrasound exam to check out my gallbladder and look for gall stones. This pain lasted about 4 days and then was gone.
Monday 2nd March I went to the Spire Hospital Norwich (Luckily I have private medical insurance through work – the NHS appointment came through for the 27th) for the ultrasound.
- Good News! Gall bladder is not inflamed and there are no gall stones
- Bad News! There are lesions on your liver
I didn’t even know what a lesion was! I googled it. It scared me. I didn’t look again!
Thursday 5th March I went to the Spire Hospital Norwich for a CT scan to my chest, abdomen and pelvis… the results were inconclusive as to what the lesions were, but the good news was that the scan didn’t show anything else. Let’s try with a MRI scan.
Tuesday 10th March I have an appointment with a consultant. The insurance company won’t authorise an MRI unless I’ve seen a consultant… He says I am young, fit (according to Phil, that depends if you are comparing me to a couch potato or an athlete…), healthy, not demonstrating any symptoms of anything sinister (especially rapid weight loss – if I had lost a pound every time a doctor has asked me if I have been losing weight, I would be slim!). The lesions could be one of may different things and his gut said it’s not anything sinister but we need to go ahead with the MRI to find out what it is.
Tuesday 17th March MRI scan at the Spire Hospital Norwich… results inconclusive. Only way to find out what’s going on is a biopsy.
In the mean-time I had a full set of blood tests. Wednesday 25th March the consultant calls me to say that they showed my liver function is fine. There is however one tumour marker that is slightly abnormal. It is not a reliable test and not conclusive in any way… it is CA153 – which can indicate breast cancer.
I have to confess, I did freak out a bit at this point! I was in Aberdeen at work (my normal work routine is to spend every other week in Aberdeen) my fabulous and incredibly grounded colleague and friend absorbed the shock and calmed me down in seconds (thanks Mo xx).
Tuesday 31st March Ultrasound Guided Biopsy at the Spire Hospital. Who knew, poking around in your liver and close to the diaphragm delivers intense referred pain to the shoulder? And although the local area of the skin was numbed, pushing the needle in to the correct spot to get the biopsy is what I imagine being stabbed to feel like!
Tuesday 7th April Meet with the consultant. It’s breast cancer. In my liver. We’re in shock. The CT scan showed nothing in the breast. Appointment to see the breast consultant tomorrow.
Wednesday 8th April Meet the breast specialist. He does an exam and can’t feel anything, the mammogram however picks it up, hiding in the centre of my left breast. An ultrasound guided biopsy is taken just to be sure.
The insurance company also calls – I’m not covered for secondary cancer so it’s back to the good old NHS – the treatment options and level of care will be exactly the same. The insurance company has been great, got me through the scans and diagnosis stages quickly.
Thursday 9th April We wait to see what’s next, and we wait… we sow vegetable seeds, tidy up the vegetable patch, do all sorts of things (luckily I work for a great company and have an awesome boss so I don’t have to do any actual work), in the sunshine and wait…
Tuesday 16th April Bone scan with the Nuclear Medicine Department (that’s really the name of a hospital department!!) to check that the cancer hasn’t spread to my bones.
Wednesday 17th April We wait to see what’s next, and we wait… I’m finding it easier to enjoy each day without thinking too much about what’s to come than Phil is but we’re doing our best!
Thursday 30th April We meet the oncologist. She is lovely and makes us feel really comfortable, we also meet my oncology key worker, she is lovely too. We have a plan of action. the chemotherapy combination is FEC, I will have 6 sessions at three week intervals beginning Monday 18th May. and an appointment for a wig fitting on Friday 15th May.
And so it begins.