Monday, November 24, 2008

Even after you get out of school, tests suck.

If you've visited my blog before you know I urged everyone to get their mammogram done in October. My mom is a breast cancer survivor, so it's a topic near and dear to my heart. Early detection is key to a good prognosis. So I had my yearly mammogram and it came back clean. Then my doctor said, "You know, you haven't had a baseline colonoscopy yet."

"But I don't have any symptoms," I said.

"That doesn't matter," she assured me. "You deserve a screening."

Far be it from me to pass on something I deserve.

So I made the appointment for today. Knowing preparation for the test involves a rather nasty purge, I thought it might also be a way to rid myself of a couple of those pesky "cruise" pounds I just packed on. I very nearly cancelled the appointment anyway because it requires having an IV and I'm the original human turnip, but my DH wouldn't let me wiggle out of it.

And it's a good thing.

The doctor found a polyp, which he removed and a mass, which he could not. Now, I don't have any idea what this mass is. It's been biopsied and I have an appointment with a surgeon tomorrow. Looks like I may not be making my home-made noodles for Thanksgiving, after all.

I'm trying very hard to be positive. This could be any number of things. But, being the daughter of two cancer survivors, the Big C is the first thing that pops into my mind.

I'll let you know.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope everything turns out ok for you Em!
It sure is a horrible worry for you. I'm sure the results will come back negative.
My thoughts are with you…stay positive, if at all possible k?
(((hugs)))

-Bobbie

EmilyBryan said...

Thanks for your positive thoughts, Bobbie. Please pray for my DH. He gained 5 sympathy pounds whenever I was pregnant and he's punishing his body this time too, but I feel fine. I felt fine when I went in. In fact, I almost walked away from the screening when they couldn't get the IV in (I'm the original human turnip!) and had to call for a real anesthesiologist. So this may be a false alarm, regardless of what it looked like to the first doctor. However, I have met with the surgeon and OK'd the removal of the bad stuff if it becomes necessary. I should know in about a week. In the meantime, I have a Thanksgiving dinner to fix! And I'm feeling very grateful for everything.

And also on the upside, in never hurts that my surgeon was cute enough to be a cover model!

Anonymous said...

You're welcome Emily.
I hope your DH realizes that you are going to be fine and stops 'punishing' himself. I can only imagine what he must be thinking though, I don't know what I'd do if I found out that my DH was in a potentially dangerous situation because of his health.
Though I’m sure it’s going to be fine!!

A sexy surgeon sure helps to boost moral ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! I hope you all have a fantastic time surrounded by yummy food, family and love!

-Bobbie

Unknown said...

My prayers are with you.

EmilyBryan said...

Thanks, Boxing. I appreciate every prayer that comes my way.