I have recently moved from the North Shore to Eden Terrace into a gorgeous little flat with my boyfriend, Nick. Because of this I changed doctors for convenience. My friend Alice recommended Mt Eden Village Doctors so I signed up there.
I noticed my nipple was very dry, it had been for a few months. Last time I checked it out with the doctor she thought it was some contact dermatitis so I wasn't too worried, just wanted to sort it for aesthetic reasons.
I went to see Dr Nicola on the 13th of July 2018. I showed her the nipple and she wasn't worried at all but decided to do a breast exam. She felt some lumpiness and wasn't concerned as it was quite soft and moved around. It is common in young woman to have quite dense breast tissue. I had found out in August 2017 when I had my first brush with breast cancer. I had an ultrasound in 2017 and all was fine, just as expected, dense breast tissue. My new doctor had seen these results from last year and wasn't too worried but as I was a new patient she wanted to be extra careful. She booked me in for an ultra sound on the 30th of July - obviously not urgent. She assured me she wasn't worried and was just being "anal". She is a wonderful doctor, so kind and very thorough. I owe her, she saved my life.
I went home that day, very scared. Even though she reassured me I really felt something was wrong. After a weekend of worrying, nail biting and crying, I booked another appointment with her to talk through my concerns and try and get an earlier time for the ultrasound. wanted to I put my worries at ease. She phoned around and on her final call, she secured me an appointment for the next day, the 18th of July. I was so grateful as was excited to put this silly worry to rest.
That next day my mum dropped me off at the breast clinic on the North Shore and she went to work. I walked in to the waiting room, its a beautiful clinic, bowls of chocolates on the coffee tables, blush velvet booths, gold trimmings with navy and faun accents. I felt very at comfortable and calm.
I was called in by the Radiologist assistant and asked to change into a gown and take a seat in the waiting room. This room was a miniature version of the reception waiting room. Next to me was a woman, probably early 40's, she also was in a gown. She was praying as her mother distracted her beautiful daughter with a colouring in book.
I was called in next. As I lay there, tits out for the boys, I started to panic. I reached out for the assistants hand to hold. The radiologist was a kind man, he poured the gel onto my right breast and started the ultrasound. I noticed he started to look quite pale and he was quiet. The ultrasound went on for a long time, maybe 15-20 minutes, much longer than my last one. He stopped and looked at me and said, "Dani, I have found some lumps." He said he didn't know what they were and would like to do a Mamogram to investigate further. My heart stopped.