We are inclined to perceive things in black and white. That’s human nature. Instead of trying to look around and understand others from their point of view, we tend to seek to confirm our own vision. “They” or “us”. “We” are better than “them”, that’s why everything “they” do is not normal, “they” are stupid, it would be better to do what “we” do and say, that’s the way “they” should do things. It is not even worth wasting our time listening to what “they” have to say, because what “we” have to say is more important and of course the correct and complete truth. No part of “their” values is right, but “our” values are better, more uplifting, the only values that should be followed by everyone, including “them.”
18 years ago, after complaining of breast pain, I was instructed by an endocrinologist to have a mammogram. I did that, diagnosis was fibrocystic mastosis. I received a treatment with drops and herbal ointment and progesterone, we see how the physical condition evolves, if I still have pain. My condition has improved. About 6 years later, I was instructed to have a new mammogram and then a breast ultrasound. The doctor who performed both tests sent me to an oncologist. I was shocked when I entered the Oncology Institute, the chaos, the queue hours at that surgeon, along with other women already operated on, with total or partial mastectomy, some coming for a second operation, or a third, the sight of some women with mutilated bodies undergoing surgery or chemotherapy deformed, with their head covered with a headscarf, pale and without eyebrows. But the biggest shock was when I went into the doctor’s office, and the nurse sent me and other women to undress quickly and go out in front of the doctor. The consultation lasted two minutes, after several hours of standing in line on the aisle. Two minutes after he touched me a little, he didn’t look at the mammogram, ultrasound or interpretation of the doctor I had been to before, and then he told me to contact his assistant the next morning, to have my luggage ready and not to take it. aspirin, because it will operate on me that day, and aspirin promotes bleeding. He will remove my right breast, and from the left we’ll see, maybe he will be able to save a portion, so that the reconstruction can be done later, after healing. That’s what he told me, then he sent me away, and the nurse put a post-it note with the name and phone number of the assistant in my hand, then she told me to get dressed quickly and go out, because it’s a long queue at the door. I was there alone, I don’t know how I got home, luckily I live close to the Institute. I don’t remember if before I got home or after I burst into tears, I practically don’t remember anything until the next day when I got to work, I don’t think I stopped crying until then, and I told my colleagues. A colleague told me that she had just gone to a doctor who thought she was very good, to go to her for a second opinion, not to go for surgery yet. I was looking at her and I didn’t understand anything, I was still in shock. She made an appointment for me and insisted on the phone that the doctor receive me the same day. Sometimes our guardian angels find that we need a boost of help, and that day my angel did a lot of work for me. That doctor looked at the mammogram, and then I had a new ultrasound, which lasted about an hour. After that she told me that she sees no reason for an emergency operation, and explained to me that mammography shows only a part of the breast changes, another part ultrasound, and for a complete diagnosis an ultrasound is needed, mammography and MRI. She instructed me to do an MRI, and if the doctor there, after corroborating all the 3 imaging tests, will indicate the operation, then I will know for sure if it is necessary, and what kind of operation, because there are a lot of kinds of operations. partial, not everyone is quick to eradicate everything. After the MRI I received a diagnosis of probably benign changes, following the diagnosis after 6 months, then it will be known for sure, following any changes that may occur in these 6 months. I repeated the ultrasound in 6 months, then in another 6 months, and in 2 years I repeated all 3 imaging analyzes: mammography, ultrasound and MRI. Nothing has changed, that’s the structure of my breasts, very dense and with changes in fibrocystic mastosis and fibroadenomas. And now, after another 10 years, my breasts look the same, ultrasound and mammography. We are not carven copy of somebody, each human is unique, not a patient registered under a code, not a spare parts factory, from which if we take something out quickly, we can replace it with something else.
It is not easy for me to expose myself like this, I hesitated a lot whether or not to write this story from my life, but I considered that it can be useful in this times, in which everyone thinks he is right. I remembered that when I asked the doctor I went to, and I still go to, she is one of the few doctors whose opinion I fully value, when I asked her if I should repeat the mammogram after 6 months. or a year, she told me no, is an invasive investigation and should not be repeated annually. Only if the ultrasound suggests changes will I have a mammogram. Ultrasound and MRI are non-invasive, but MRI is quite expensive, so I do breast ultrasound first. I do not know why mammography is recommended as an initial investigation, and I do not know why it is recommended annually. Many women have a major discomfort when having a mammogram, it is not pleasant to crush your breasts between those trays. There are other painful or unpleasant investigations, such as endoscopy or colonoscopy, which are now performed under total or partial anesthesia, I have done endoscopy several times, without anesthesia, it is not a joy. But before you do these investigations, you do others, non-invasive, blood or stool investigations, and as a last resort, a painful, dangerous, or irradiating investigation is recommended. Also, as a patient, I was recommended breast ultrasound as an initial investigation, when it was the case. We do not need to undergo a painful and irradiating investigation if this is not the case, in any case not once a year. Let’s go for a check-up once a year, if we have changes or after menopause, to schedule a consultation and a breast ultrasound. I’m not talking about the costs here, they are not small, and the breast investigations are done only on certain days of the monthly cycle, I did not manage to schedule then in those few days, even in 3-4 months I could not I do MRI settled, so I did it with my money, and it doesn’t cost a few pennies. But I could afford it, for some women it’s too expensive and it’s another problem to solve.
This is my experience with medical investigations on the breast. Maybe the others medical problems I have made me stronger, or I may not realize the devastation of this experience on my mental state. It’s my personal world. We each have our own level of understanding and we should each choose for ourselves. And have compassion for others, even if we do not understand what drives them in life and what values they have. Human is a complex being, it cannot be seen only in black and white, we are all colored in different shades of gray.
