Pre-Op: Part 2

January 8th was the big day of my surgery.  I had to check in at 9:45 am.  I had a bit of an entourage with Juan, my parents, and Beth there with me.  The check-in person said it was ok because I had a "village" but not a "city."  After check-in someone took me over to the Breast Care Center.  I feel like a regular there, as that is where all the mammograms and biopsies have been performed.

Today I was there for my "wire localization" which is basically where they insert a wire into your boob.  It was pretty much exactly what I was thinking it would be and when it was finished I literally had a thin wire sticking straight out of me.  Beth said it looked like a guitar string.  They did sort of bend it down and put a bandage over it when all was finished so it wouldn't stab me.

They use ultrasound to locate the tumor and then the radiologist uses a hollow needle (the wire is inside the needle) to get right through the center of the tumor.  They make the wire go all the way through the tumor so its point is beyond it and then remove the needle, leaving the wire behind.  Of course they numb it all up before any of this.  Here is how great I was looking while I waited for the procedure.  And yes, those are my boobs on films in the background.  I don't have much modesty anymore.

Then they took some pictures with the ultrasound which the surgeon uses during the surgery.  I also got to have two more mammogram pictures taken after the wire was placed, also for use during surgery.  I learned they do this procedure because it helps the surgeon to ensure she removes all the bad tissue and margins around it (or at least much more likely to get it all and not need a second surgery).  That black spot in the photo below is my cancer (good riddance!!).  After the procedure there was a white line going through it.  Those lines below the black spot are the muscles on the chest wall.

I got to see all my new "friends"... Candy the ultrasound tech and Julie the nurse who have been there at my previous procedures.  I don't know if they really remember me, but they make me feel like they do which is kind of nice.  I also got to meet Dr. X - the one who called me with my initial biopsy results and told me I had cancer.  I was glad to get to meet her in person.  I'm not sure she thought it was very entertaining when I told her this.  Regardless, I could tell she is really good at what she does and she was willing to answer my myriad of questions and explain why they do this procedure.  She may have even smiled once or twice.

After all the films were approved, I got to take a wheelchair ride back over to the main hospital.  My entourage went into the waiting area and I went right into the pre-op area to meet my next round of nurses and get all ready for the actual surgery.