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6442. arkymalarky - 3/30/2005 9:08:57 PM Very true. I feel great now, just knowing I'm going to get all this taken care of and not have too much guilt since my kids are going to have an enthusiastic, certified teacher. Though I made it clear he needn't get any ideas about next year.;-)
And it helps that the hospital I go to for testing is very prompt, very efficient, and very caring. I really can't praise them enough. When the radiologist came in for the breast ultrasound it kind of surprised me, and before I thought I said, "You're not the same one who looked at my uterus the other day." 6443. arkymalarky - 3/30/2005 9:18:37 PM Mother just called and her regular mammogram was scheduled for today at the same place, but she told them she'd felt a tiny knot about the size of a pinhead and had forgotten to tell her doctor about it (he didn't feel anything) and they made her reschedule for Tuesday when the radiologist would be there, since he'd already left for today, so they can directly to the diagnostic procedure right then if they need to. 6444. arkymalarky - 3/30/2005 9:19:09 PM go 6445. Magoseph - 3/30/2005 9:46:24 PM Arky, have you asked your doctor if after your operation you might have fewer tendencies getting cysts? 6446. arkymalarky - 3/30/2005 11:37:17 PM Ha! I just told Bob today to be sure to remind me to ask tomorrow. I certainly hope so. Besides the mammmogram issue, they're painful. This one's been hurting me for several months now. When I saw today where the cyst was located, before they did the diagnostic mammogram, my worry level went WAY down--and when they did it, my pain level went WAY up. ;-) 6447. Magoseph - 3/31/2005 12:00:50 AM This one's been hurting me for several months now.
They were hurting for several months and you waited until now to take care of them?
6448. Magoseph - 3/31/2005 12:01:20 AM I mean, this one was hurting. 6449. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 12:06:00 AM Cysts are often painful, but there's nothing they can do about them. Not mashing them would be nice, but....
Malignancies aren't, and you can also feel them. You can't feel cysts, generally, because they're filled with fluid. I'd just been checked by my doctor and he didn't feel anything. I have cysts almost all the time, some painful and some not, but one that shows up on a mammogram just looks like a mass, though usually round or oval, which is a good sign, but like the radiologist said, it still has to be checked out. Most don't show up at all. 6450. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 12:07:30 AM You can feel malignancies once they get a certain size, that is. That's why if you feel something you need to go get an ultrasound and maybe a biopsy, because about 15% of cancers can't be detected in a mammogram, regardless of their size. 6451. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 12:09:21 AM BTW, I didn't go in for the pain but for my yearly exam. I was fairly certain the pain was a cyst, but the notices don't tell you where they find something, just that you need to schedule more tests. 6452. Magoseph - 3/31/2005 12:16:56 AM Thank you for the info, Arky--let us know what the doctor says tomorrow if you have the time, please. 6453. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 12:44:06 AM I sure will. Thanks so much for being concerned. I've thought a lot the last couple of days about how blessed I am with my rl and cyber friends. Having people to share things with--good or bad--is a wonderful thing.
I did learn a lot more today than I'd known before, and I thought it very helpful. Breast cancer is a real concern. We've all known people who've had it and some who've died from it, young and old. But the general public information tends to lack perspective, and that's what I got today. The radiologist said 15 in 100 mammograms get called back for more tests, but only 3 in 1000 are cancer. Still, mammograms are just the first level of screening, like colonoscopies or prostate exams or all those other fun things they tell you to do yearly after you reach a certain age. The last level is a biopsy, and a significant majority of them are benign. Breast cancer is also usually very treatable. He told me at my age I needed to start thinking much more about cardio-vascular disease (not now, but for the future) and working on adjusting my lifestyle to prepare for that risk. And he wasn't referring to me, specifically, but me as a 45 year old American female. Of course the benefit of doing that is it reduces the risks of lots of other things, as well, including a number of types of cancer.
So hopefully the next time I get called back for more tests I'll have a better handle on things, even though I'd already been told that being prone to cysts made mammogram abnormalities more likely. Of course I won't be planning a rush trip and a hysterectomy either, and that should help too. ;-) 6454. judithathome - 3/31/2005 1:01:09 AM Glad to hear the results were okay, Arky.
Now concentrate on your WVa trip and have a great drive...I'll bet it is really beautiful along the way! The differences around here are amazing, from just two weeks ago....green, green, green. 6455. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 1:07:02 AM Thanks Judith!
I'm excited about the trip. I keep trying to convince Bob that once we get there all he'll have to do is chill until we leave--you saw the schedule, so you know he'll have a lot of down time once he gets there while I go to all that stuff! I really think he'll love it once he sees how nice everything is in that part of the country. 6456. judithathome - 3/31/2005 1:24:59 AM I think so, too...he can walk a lot, which will not only be interesting but what he likes to do, anyhow. 6457. alistairconnor - 3/31/2005 10:07:46 AM Best wishes for your health issues Arky...
a woman's lot is not a happy one, there is no equality with respect to all that extra apparatus you people have...
... by contrast, most of modern men's health problems seem to be largely self-inflicted or discretionary. 6458. alistairconnor - 3/31/2005 10:12:58 AM I suggest you wrap that baby up in a papoose or pop him in a stroller and take him for a walk with you.
Rick, what I suggest is a backpack. As long as the kid is warm, it's an ideal means of transport, he can look over your shoulder and see the world from your point of view, or sleep happily and safely. From what I remember, 9 months is about the right starting age.
I had an excellent one with an aluminium frame, it had a fold-out strut so that you could take it off and put it down without taking the child out. It's amazing how that extended the range of activities I could share with the kid.
6459. thoughtful - 3/31/2005 2:33:18 PM Rick, I also suggest you invest some time in a food diary. A tip from weight watchers and I can vouch from personal experience how much unconscious eating we do. When we write down everything we eat including portions, it's a real eye opener. 6460. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 4:43:55 PM Thanks Alistair! Things should get a lot easier along that line relatively soon, and while we do have some extra baggage, so to speak, we still tend to live longer. Most of this stuff is more of an annoyance than anything. And I guess now I won't be going through menopause (which is what I thought all this was at first). I may be wrong about that--I'm not clear on all that stuff yet. 6461. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 4:45:35 PM Thoughtful's right. That's how I start every diet when I'm serious--write it down and the calories. And it's what Bob did when he lost so much weight. He doesn't do it now, since he's formed eating habits that make it unnecessary. Except he's eating out a bunch here lately and through this weekend trip. He'll get back on track Tuesday.
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