Discovery and Diagnosis

I found the lump in my breast on December 25 - yes, that is correct, Christmas. Ladies, BSE on your schedule whether it's a holiday or not. Trust me, it can save your life! I saw my primary care physician on December 31 and could tell by her non-commitment that it didn't look good. Her office made an appointment with a surgeon for me on January 23rd, with the agreement that they would try to find something sooner - that being too long to wait. On January 2nd the surgeon's office called with an opening and I went that day for my biopsy. The surgeon did the biopsy and an ultrasound and felt that the small lump (size of a lima bean) that I had found was what there was. His words were "it has some characteristics of a cyst" but he didn't sound very convincing. The nurse said it would take about a week for results and they'd call me, the doctor said I should go ahead and make an appointment for the next week - again, not a positive feeling. The next week, the diagnosis was, of course, breast cancer.