I went away on holiday and came back and there was a letter waiting for me asking me to go back to the main hospital because they may need to have another look at the x-rays, giving the details of what it could possibly be. And again I was quite positive about it and I went along to the main hospital not really knowing what to expect, just that I would probably have another mammogram. I had another mammogram and they asked me to sit for a while and wait. There was a lot of other people coming in and out who were having similar things and everything was fine. So I was quite happy.
What did the letter say, can you remember?
It just said that “you need to come back and have another mammogram,” and then it explained that this could be any, why, and that’s what I did.
You didn’t worry at this stage?
Not at all, no, no. I had no worries at all. Breast cancer hadn’t been in the family, and everybody else had had cancer of different types in both sides of the family, but that wasn’t one of them, so no I had no worries at all.
So you had the second mammogram, did you ask them any questions or was it all quite straight forward?
Well it was quite straight forward. I was a little nervous and when they wanted to do the needle biopsy, that was what worried me. And I thought it’ll be all right, it’ll be benign or something. Not thinking very much about it at all.
No. And what did the needle biopsy involve?
Well I had to have my breast clamped. But this, and that was very painful and it was a needle that, I mean very kind and explained that it had to go in to the site where they thought there was a problem. And it was the first time it went in, he wasn’t happy and they had to go in again. So that was a bit distressing really. And I had to have a bit of a you know wait around at that point, it was distressing I have to say, but I have to say that’s what needed to be done. I think if I’d have been told what was going to happen I probably wouldn’t, I’d have been even more nervous, but it had to be done and that was that.
And they did the core biopsy, did they give you the results there and then on the same day?
Yes. And I saw the consultant on the same day. And the breast cancer nurse, it all happened within I would say half an hour or three quarters of an hour.
Yes. Yes, which was wonderful.
