No letter

Since I was about forty years old, I’ve had a mammogram every year, usually in the last quarter. This year I got my reminder letter and I was able to make the appointment online instead of having to telephone. I had my mammogram on December 8th and I received the same information I get every year, advising that there may be delays in receiving my results due to the holiday period when they are closed. Normally I get my results in a fairly timely way despite this message and it’s always been clear. This time, however, I haven’t received results and it’s now over a month after the mammogram. Even with holiday closures, it seemed a bit long to wait. Last week I decided I would phone up if I hadn’t got a letter by today.

No letter arrived and I called up the Breast Screen service and was eventually transferred to a nurse. I am not sure why I didn’t get a letter but I have been called back for further testing due to some calcification showing on my right breast. I now go in to the hospital clinic and will possibly spend the better part of a day having a full diagnostic mammogram and possibly an ultrasound and biopsy too. I won’t know until the day. My appointment is on the 28th and I have to be there for an 8:30am start.

The rational part of me knows the chances are quite in my favor to have a benign result but the anxiety of the not-so-rational part of me is sure to rear its ugly head over the next couple of weeks while I wait for that appointment. Of course the rational part of me also considers that even if it’s not benign, the cancer will be caught early and early treatment will sort things out too. My mom’s breast cancer was found while she was in her early 40s, premenopausally, but since treatment she has been cancer free for decades. Should there be any cancer there, I can hope that I will have a similar outcome.

Meanwhile, the rational side tells me to wait for the results of the further tests to worry. Thankfully, I will get the results of any and all tests on the day so my I won’t have to anxiously wait for more than a few hours to get more information. I suspect I will also be doing my own research into what calcification in breast tissue means too. :)