In the days following my diagnosis, the phone was ringing off the hook with calls from doctors confirming appointments. Actually getting through the tests was the easy part, it was waiting for the results that was hell. Every hour felt like a day and weekends were the worst. During this time, trying to remain in a good frame of mind mentally is the most important part. This, however, is much easier said than done. I couldn't sleep but knew how important it was for my health so had sleeping pills prescribed by my doctor...this is something I would recommend. I hate taking pills (I don't even usually take Aspirin) but am so glad that I had them.
Another thing that helped me was to take control of my appointments. This meant following up with my doctor regularly to ensure that all of the appropriate tests were being scheduled as soon as possible. My doctor's office has a policy that they submit the referral and only follow up 8 days later if the test has not been scheduled. For someone who has just been diagnosed this cancer, 8 days is an eternity...for one test, I just called the hospital myself to follow up. I would strongly encourage others to ask what their doctor's policy is and make their own calls if needed. Once a test was done, if they said the results would be available in 2 days, I was calling my doctor exactly 2 days later. Don't feel shy or embarrasaed doing this, it is your health and if you have a good doctor, they will understand.
I can't stress enough how important it is to get a copy of all your tests! These have come in very handy along the way and I bring them to all of my appointments. There are also a lot of specific terms used, especially in the pathology report, that I researched afterwards as I found the doctor didn't clearly explain it or I needed more information.
Here is a rundown of the tests that were done:
Ultrasound of breast and axilla
Mammogram
X-ray of clavicle
MRI
CT Scan
Ultrasound of uterus needed based on CT Scan results
Bone Scan
I found that the tests themselves were painless (other than a needle to inject the dye). I won't go through the tests in detail but did find that the following website was helpful in terms of learning what to expect: http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/testing/types
Another thing that helped me was to take control of my appointments. This meant following up with my doctor regularly to ensure that all of the appropriate tests were being scheduled as soon as possible. My doctor's office has a policy that they submit the referral and only follow up 8 days later if the test has not been scheduled. For someone who has just been diagnosed this cancer, 8 days is an eternity...for one test, I just called the hospital myself to follow up. I would strongly encourage others to ask what their doctor's policy is and make their own calls if needed. Once a test was done, if they said the results would be available in 2 days, I was calling my doctor exactly 2 days later. Don't feel shy or embarrasaed doing this, it is your health and if you have a good doctor, they will understand.
I can't stress enough how important it is to get a copy of all your tests! These have come in very handy along the way and I bring them to all of my appointments. There are also a lot of specific terms used, especially in the pathology report, that I researched afterwards as I found the doctor didn't clearly explain it or I needed more information.
Here is a rundown of the tests that were done:
Ultrasound of breast and axilla
Mammogram
X-ray of clavicle
MRI
CT Scan
Ultrasound of uterus needed based on CT Scan results
Bone Scan
I found that the tests themselves were painless (other than a needle to inject the dye). I won't go through the tests in detail but did find that the following website was helpful in terms of learning what to expect: http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/testing/types
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