The Biopsy

Classic Hodgkin's Lymphoma is generally detected early due to the symptoms it manifests into.  The way this particular cancer spreads, it's considered one of the most treatable cancers. The most noteable side effect is swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck or under arms. This was the symptom that led me to advance radiology for an ultrasound. At the time this was my primary symptom, but as time progressed my symptoms became much worse. Shortly after an abnormal ultrasound reading, I was sent to a surgeon who specializes in breast cancer. She suggested a biopsy, stating it would be the best method for ruling out cancer and would allow us to hopefully get answers quick.

The biopsy was an interesting processes. I'd have to say I think the anticipation leading up to the actual test was much worse than the test itself. To prepare for the biopsy, which is a test that collects cell samples from multiple sites within a space for sample, a needle is injected to numb the area. I was told this was the not painful part, however except for a quick prick it was relatively painless. The actually biopsy itself is a click followed by a short buzzing, in my instance, the biopsy machine collected 10 samples from two lymph nodes under my armpit. A small titanium clip was also placed in one of the lymph nodes as a marker. This is a controversial subject, but so far I haven't had any adverse reactions. My understanding of these clips is to make the lymph node that was biopsied distinguishable for future reference. For instance in the future if I had another swollen node it would be easy to tell if the same node was swollen again or if another node now swollen. Biopsies are treated as out-patient surgeries. You dress in a hospital gown, they prep the surgical sight and send you home with recovery instructions. The list was relatively simple; ice for 4-6 hours, no heavy lifting and keep the bandages on for 24 hours.

And then you wait. There was an interesting Article by the New York Times that discusses how women's cortisol levels fluctuate during the great waiting game. Woman who have been diagnosed with cancer and woman who have yet to hear any news regarding their delayed biopsy results on days 3-5 without being told of the hold up, have levels that measure the same as those that were given a cancer diagnosis. My point with this story is to tell you that the waiting game is brutal. I had my biopsy completed on a Friday, Friday the 13th to be exact. I should have known never to have surgery on Friday the 13th. All kidding aside, I received my results back on Wednesday. With the weekend, it ended up being 5 days of waiting. And then the call came, the call you hope results with an "everything is normal" response. However in my instance, the surgeon calls as I'm loading up two kids in the car after an amazingly wonderful lunch with my aunt on a remarkably windy day. I hear the words cancer, lymphoma and I'm being sent to see a specialist, an oncologist, someone who knows more. I just needed to make the call, as I scrambled to write down the correct name and number, as I know had a job to do. The oncologist had already been informed of my case and an appointment time lined up for me the following week. I think it's safe to say this was not quite how I imagined my day would go.

The oncologist visit in my instance was surprisingly uneventful. I would have to say the most eventful part of the visit was scheduling all follow up appointments that would allow us to stage the cancer and prepare for chemo.