The Itch

Sunday, July 31. I t all started with an itch. Robert an I were laying in bed watching a movie. I had my arm above my head and felt an itch at the top of my breast. When I rubbed it I noticed that the skin felt different, kind of like a rectagular area that was thickened. I asked Robert to feel it and he thought it felt strange and I should go have it checked out. I had just gone for a yearly check up about 2 months before and I know there was nothing different then. I could not feel a lump-just a thickening. I called the gynocologist the next day.

Tuesday, August 2. I went to my doctor. They could feel the thickening but you could not feel a lump. And the only way that you could feel that there was anything different was if I was laying down with my arm behind my head. It would disappear in any other position. I feel very fortunate that I had to itch that night! The doctor sent me for a mammogram, ultrasound and a phone number to a surgeon to follow up even if the mammogram showed nothing suspicious. I had a benign lump removed form the same breast when I was 23. You would think that that would make me believe that this was the same thing, but I didn't. I told Robert that I didn't have a good feeling about this.

Friday, August 5. I went for my mammogram and ultrasound. You could definitly see a lump on the ultrasound. They said that it looked to be about a centimeter. My doctor would get the results in a few days. Anyway, I was preparing to come to North Carolina for our visit in the next week. On Monday, August 8 I got a call from my doctor asking if I made an appointment with a surgeon. This should have been a clue, I guess. I didn't even ask for results--I thought they took a long time to get back. But I made an appointment with a surgeon for August 22. Two days after I got back from N.C.