…and sometimes “life” is spelled with an “S” if you get my meaning.  Fortunately, that’s not the case (yet), although I was preparing myself for it to be.

A few weeks ago, my wife Kathy went in for her annual mammogram, although she later told me she was thinking about skipping it this year.  Well, the mammogram, done at our PCP’s office, or rather the large clinic he works at, showed something that wasn’t there last year.  He referred her to a breast health specialist in town, an wonderful woman who is a breast cancer survivor herself.  This doctor did a followup mammogram on the breast in question (the right), saw the same thing, and ordered an MRI and a biopsy. 

We got the results back today.  The biopsy showed the new growth (something called calcification) to be benign.  But the MRI showed a small mass (about the size of the tip of my little finger) in the left breast which didn’t show up on the PCP’s mammogram.  It didn’t show up on the followup mammogram we did with the specialist this afternoon.  And let me tell you something.  The difference in quality of the two mammograms was amazing.  The specialist’s showed much more detail than the PCP’s.  Lesson: not all mammograms are created equal.  Make sure you’re getting the best quality you can.

Anyway, we go in for a followup visit on Thursday morning to discuss options after the doctor has had a chance to examine the sonogram we also did late this afternoon.  We’ll probably do another biopsy.  The doctor is fairly certain this is benign, but she doesn’t want to take chances.  Neither do we.  If they do find something, I may start blogging erratically until we get things cleared up.  I’ll post a notice if that happens.