Inflammatory Breast Cancer

United States
August 16, 2007 4:20pm CST
About a month ago, an online friend sent me a video from a west coast TV station about IBC, Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I nearly fainted when I saw it because that's what my right breast looked like (although mine is pink, not bright red like in the video). I contacted my doctor's office, and they said it could be mastitis, an inflammation of the mammary gland, and chose to treat me with 2 different antibiotics for 10 days each. Then they sent me for a mammo of my right breast ONLY. Then comes a call that I am being sent to a breast surgeon for a biopsy because of the mammo report. I see the breast surgeon (after over a 2 hour wait), he reads the report after it was finally faxed to him from the diagnostic firm, and said it's the wrong report. After getting the correct report faxed to him, he tells me he will do a stereotactic breast biopsy (microcalcifications in the breast) and a skin biopsy for the inflammation. This is set up for 3 days later. I psyche myself up for it, talk to the nurses at the outpatient services center to get all instructions and give them my medical history. To make a very long story short, I went ballistic when the nurse read me the report. It talked about calcifications in my LEFT breast, not my RIGHT breast. Call to surgeon's office. He doesn't believe me re mammo only on RIGHT breast and insists he is going to do the stereotactic biopsy on left breast and skin biopsy on the right breast. After telling him it's my body, and no mammo of my left breast exists after 2004, he cancels the biopsy for the next day and says he'll call my doctor and request a new mammo of BOTH breasts before he'll do the biopsies "in order to make me happy". By then I would have shot him IF I'd had a gun and he was in front of me. Why can't a doctor realize that a report can be incorrect and a patient can be right??? In any event, after not hearing anything for 3 days, I called my doctor to see what's going on and found out that the surgeon had NEVER called her, but the same day I talked to him about the report being incorrect, somehow a "corrected report" was faxed to her office and she in turn faxed it to the surgeon. She thought the biopsies had been done the next day. I explained what the surgeon had told me he was going to do (call her and request new mammos on both breasts), which he didn't, and she called the surgeon's office. They called me back the next day and said that I am being reset for biopsies on the right breast only next week, and a letter was being put in the mail to me. I'm so upset since I wasn't even given a time and have to wait for a letter to arrive. It didn't come today, and I sure hope it comes tomorrow. I need to arrange for time off work and so does my husband. I had even asked my doctor if I could see a different surgeon (another one on my insurance plan had been recommended to me), and was told that I had to use the one I had seen because that's who my doctor's office has a contract with... All I can say is if anyone sees any change in their breast, whether it's a lump or not, please see your doctor immediately and then pray. Also be sure to ALWAYS request a copy of the report for any tests that you have to take. I would have immediately noticed that my report was incorrect and saved at least a week of waiting around for someone to do something.
2 people like this
1 response
@kbkbooks (7022)
• Canada
17 Aug 07
I saw this film also. I will pray for you that everything will be ok. Bless you my sister.
1 person likes this
• United States
17 Aug 07
Thank you very much. All prayers are gratefully accepted and appreciated.