As I try to get back in the swing of things with content, I want to talk breasts and taking care of our bodies. With Breast Cancer Awareness month being last month, you might be all awareness checked out. But, I want to refocus the attention.
In early September, I found a small lump in my chest. For the first few weeks, I chose to ignore it because I figured it was just a cyst that would go away.
Well, it didn’t go away. First, I panicked because what the heck? Second, I reached out to my gyno for an appointment and that didn’t happen. Third, I called my primary care doctor and she couldn’t/wouldn’t get me in until December because I was considered a new patient now.
Honestly, it was frustrating. I even tried to call Planned Parenthood, but the wait times were crazy. Nonetheless, I called around and OhioHealth got me in within a week. From there, the gynecologist gave me a breast exam and let me know it wasn’t a cyst. OhioHealth scheduled everything for me — Breast Ultrasound and Mammogram.
My ultrasound showed a Fibrodenoma in chest, but a biopsy was scheduled to take place and confirm the findings. I went to my biopsy yesterday and I’m awaiting the results.
Advocate for yourself
Across the board, you should always advocate for yourself. Whether it’s for a lump in your chest or a sore that popped up. Some doctors don’t take you serious and others think you’re going a little overboard. If it doesn’t feel right, find a doctor that will listen. I say that so strongly. This is your body that you have to take care of. For every no you get, there is a yes out there. Don’t let one doctor shut you up. If you believe there is something wrong, then there is something wrong. Get confirmation from another doctor or doctors. You are not a burden and it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
The way I see it — we pay health insurance on a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly schedule. Get some use out of your health insurance. Preventative Care is covered or majority of it should be. Get into a doctor’s office and get your answers.
Check your breasts monthly
Check your boobies. If you have not started, start. They love to tell us to wait until we’re thirty or forty for certain exams, but young people get sick, too. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve read about young women finding lumps that turned out to be cancerous before the age of thirty. It can happen and those young women probably found out by doing their monthly self exam. Once you start checking, you know what your breast feel like. You’ll know if there is something abnormal going on because you’ll have felt yourself up a few times to know.
There are great resources out there that tell you how to check your breasts. Many resources suggest checking while you are laying down or in the shower. Use your fingers and circular motions to check each breast. Here are some resources that can help you out: For the Love of Cups, National Breast Cancer Foundation, and Know Your Lemons.
Schedule your appointments
In general, you need to be following up on your annual appointments. I spoke about this in another post — 6 Health and Wellness Things We Need To Do in 2021. It’s not on the doctor to ring us up and remind us that we need to schedule an appointment. Our health is our responsibility and we need to make sure that we keep up with it. Your best bet (and mine) is to schedule the next appointment while you’re in their office. Sure, it’s a year away but then you can change it if you need to. I find that this is the easiest thing for me to do when it comes to all appointments.
I’m not going to front because I feel like my delivery of my experience seems calm and put-together. I was very anxious and nervous after my appointment with the gynecologist. I went in with the assumption of the cyst and she told me it was harder than a cyst which kept me up doing research. Obviously, not the best idea.
When I got my biopsy, I was very nervous after they explained the process. All I could think was that I should have just waited to see if it went away. It is what it is.
Nonetheless, health is scary and wild. Your body does amazing things and sometimes, crazy things can happen to it.
I think it’s crazy they want us to wait for screenings until certain age demographics. I’m sure there is good reasoning, but it makes it harder to get in and to get taken seriously. I’m very grateful that I went to a gynecologist that had better judgement than me and submitted an order for testing.
Have you done your monthly check? Have you schedule your wellness appointments?
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