My sister's going in for ultrasound tests this morning as a follow-up to a bad mammogram

[Amerigo Vespucci]

She's 67 years old. I've never seen her frightened in my life. This morning, she is terrified.

Vibes, prayers, etc. are welcome. It's 7:45 right now, her tests are scheduled for 11:30. I don't know how soon I'll know anything after that. I'm in California, she's in Nevada, so I can only offer her long-distance support.

[bigwillq]

1. Sending out my best vibes.

I hope everything turns out ok.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. Thank you bigwillq

Much appreciated.

[hedgehog]

3. Prayers headed your way!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

7. Thank you hedgehog

[beac]

4. Vibes on the way to your sister.

And virtual hugs.

Keep us posted.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

8. Thank you beac

I'll update this thread as soon as I hear from her.

[TuxedoKat]

5. Best wishes

and prayers for your sister. (((HUGS)))

[Amerigo Vespucci]

9. Thank you TuxedoKat

[lillypaddle]

6. Best wishes for good news

for your sister, and you and other family. Been there, I understand perfectly.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

10. Thank you lillypaddle

My biggest concern right now is her fear. I've never witnessed it before. Hopefully the diagnosis will be positive, but if not, she's absolutely got a support system. My sister's a force of nature who has always been there for people in need. Those people are circling the wagons around her as we speak.

[lillypaddle]

20. It's a scary thing.

For sure. Keep us posted, please.

[mnhtnbb]

11. Mammography has a high degree of false positives--and the longer you have a history

of being screened the more likely you'll get called back. I think the rate is something like
60% for women in their 50's. There's a very good chance this will turn out
to be nothing...so I hope your sister can hold that thought until proven otherwise.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

12. I have one friend who went through it, and another who's a nurse...both echoed what you shared.

One friend went through all of the follow-up after a false positive and came out with a clean bill of health. The other is a nurse who told me about the number of false positives she's witnessed first hand. I've shared that with her, and she understands it on an intellectual level, but on an emotional level, she's scared to death. I asked her how things were going this morning and she said "Really not well. I feel like I'm walking into a death chamber. Just can't shake it." So all I can do is offer support while she rides this out and be there for her after the diagnosis, whatever it is.

[mnhtnbb]

13. I hear you. I hope her 'intuition' is WRONG and her fear unfounded.

[AngryOldDem]

23. ....

[fizzgig]

14. i'll keep her in my thoughts

[Amerigo Vespucci]

15. Thank you fizzgig

[HappyMe]

16. Sending prayers and good vibes out to your sister.

And some for you too.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

17. Thank you HappyMe

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. My best vibes for your sister, my dear Amerigo...

I've had those bad mammograms too, and the ultrasounds are really accurate.

They will most likely tell her right away. They know how tough it is for her...

Artifacts show up in mammograms; they need to be seen more carefully. Usually, they are harmless...

[Arugula Latte]

19. Hoping she gets good news.

*crossing fingers* Good luck to you both.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

21. Thank you Arugula Latte

Her appointment's in about an hour. As soon as I know something I'll post it here.

[AngryOldDem]

22. She'll be in my thoughts.

There is nothing more terrifying.

Vibes that she's okay.

Please keep us posted!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

24. Thank you AngryOldDem

Update will be posted here as soon as I hear from her. Appointment is now 45 minutes away.

[frogmarch]

25. Sending good vibes

for your sister, Amerigo. I hope all will be well.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

28. Thank you frogmarch

[turtlerescue1]

26. Prayers from here.

The kinda' good news is mammograms have a habit of being "bad". Still been there, done that fear thing. Its the idea that its your body and you live in it and have no idea what can be in there with you.


PRAYERS and HUGS
Hugs

nd MORE Hugs

[Amerigo Vespucci]

30. Thank you turtlerescue1

I'm hoping the odds are in her favor.

[Flaxbee]

27. Vibes to your sister. It is frightening

I really hope she'll be fine.

I have two sisters who've been through this. Hang in there.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

32. Thank you Flaxbee

Appointment's 25 minutes away. She is probably a wreck. Hopefully that's all going to shift in the next hour.

[applegrove]

29. BIG VIBES!!!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

33. Thank you applegrove

[Baitball Blogger]

31. Good vibes for good results.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

34. Thank you Baitball Blogger

[emilyg]

35. Prayers on the way. Went

through this myself. Still here.

[Surya Gayatri]

36. Sending positive vibes her way and courage to you, Amerigo.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

37. Thank you Surya

Nail-biting time here. The appointment was at 11:30. It's 1:40. I'm keeping an eye out for updates.

[graywarrior]

38. Big fat vibes heading her way!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

39. Thank you GW

[Amerigo Vespucci]

40. UPDATE

Just received this from my sister. Still more tests, but the prognosis is not as dire as she expected this morning and her fear...thank God...has subsided. Thank you all for your prayers and vibes.

Hi!

Well I'm not home free quite yet, but the results are good. I have a 1/3 centimeter 'thing' that they aren't sure what it is right now. It could be nothing, and it could be something. The radiologist wants to look at 5 years of medical records and mamograms. He will likely recommend that I go for either another mamogram, an ultra sound, or both in either 3 months or 6 months, depending on his studies of today's tests, and my records. I also learned that even if it was cancer, I am finding it SO early that my prognosis would be excellent. That is a huge weight off my shoulders, and I feel so much better. I've actually stopped shaking like a leaf and my headache is almost gone. I think I'll be able to actually sleep tonight. I need to do something in thanks for my good news. Haven't figured out what yet. Thanks so much for your support. It means a lot.

[bluesbassman]

41. Well let's take that for good news at this point AV.

Keeping the vibes going for your sis.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

43. Thanks my friend...

...the biggest prayer of mine that was answered was for the fear to subside. She'd mentally returned to a position where she can "handle" this.

[graywarrior]

42. Awwww, I want to hug her!!!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

44. She is amazing

After all of that, what's the first thing she comes out with? "I need to do something in thanks for my good news. Haven't figured out what yet."

[graywarrior]

46. Love her!

[progressivebydesign]

45. good to hear that update.

I've known several women that have been called in to an ultrasound, and have come out with nothing, or something non-cancer. Glad that she's feeling more hopeful. That has to be so terrifying for her.

[AngryOldDem]

47. Good news -- a relief

Best wishes for her continued peace of mind, and that when they look at things again... all will all be normal.

[kcass1954]

48. Glad to hear things are looking up.

I have a little piece of tissue in my right breast that shows up looking "funny" every few years.

I understand the fear. The first time it happened was shortly after my mom's BC had returned after a 15-year remission. The second time was two days after her funeral.

They do a compression mammogram and a sonogram, and have determined that it's just a piece of tissue in a weird position. But they always double-check, just in case.

Sending prayers and good vibes anyway until they figure out what it is.

[tanyev]

49. Yep. I've had biopsies done two years in a row now and each time it came back fibroadenoma,

which they say is harmless. If they want to do another biopsy this year I'm going to ask my gyno for a referral to just get it taken out.

Scary as all get-out when you're in the middle of it all.

[RobinA]

55. This Is the Conclusion

I've come to. Used to be I did everything to avoid the OR. So I wound up with the mammo, the ultrasound, the core biopsy. All were, "Well, we don't THINK it's anything." So I ended up getting it out anyway. Meanwhile, time off work for appointments, worry with each test... Next time - see something on the mammo? It's coming out without all the tests in-between.

[TuxedoKat]

51. Thanks for letting us know

Last edited Tue Jul 17, 2012, 11:30 PM - Edit history (1)

hope the news continues to be good for her.

[elleng]

52. GREAT NEWS!

[turtlerescue1]

53. No matter what, her words sound like the "big scary" is done.

BUT MORE HUGS:

[HappyMe]

54. That's certainly a relief.

I will still send vibes.
Hugs all around!

[HeiressofBickworth]

50. I had a something

on a mammogram. I had it for years but it had grown which caused the alarm. It was a non-cancerous fibroid growth. The Dr. was more concerned that the growth might hide something else. So out it came. Day surgery, no big deal, minimal recovery time, no pain meds required. So, I hope your sister's results are like mine -- in the long run, nothing to be concerned about. Best wishes to her.