I followed a link on Facebook to this fabulous video aimed at raising awareness of the importance of checking your breasts regularly:
So I did. I found a lump. It was late on a Friday night and my first reaction was 'oh shit, the doctors will not be open for two whole days!' and I had a pretty sleepless night. The next day I calmed down and did some research and found some helpful advice that reassured me. It was very smooth and rounded so I rationalised that in all probability it was a cyst. However telling yourself that things will be fine only works up to a point. So deciding that I was going to continue to feel anxious without some medical reassurance I called the surgery on Tuesday morning and made an appointment. On the Friday after a week of sleepless nights, I saw a lovely doctor who was very calm and relaxed, and she agreed there was a lump (the other anxiety is thinking you are just being paranoid, since breasts are very lumpy things at the best of times.) However she said that because of my age, and because it can be difficult to tell just from the feel of the thing, she was going to refer me to the breast clinic down at Wythenshaw hospital. It should take less than a fortnight to get an appointment she said, and if I had not heard by then I should chase it up with the surgery.
The appointment letter arrived promptly and two weeks later I found myself waiting at the tram stop to travel down the new airport line, which very conveniently goes right past the hospital. I waited for a while and then I waited for a while more. Two trams to Didsbury went past but the tram to the airport still showed 9 minutes. Then it showed 20 minutes. We (myself and an old bloke also heading to the hospital) waited another half an hour and the time on the display seemed to go up and down somewhat randomly. After a 50 minute wait it finally arrived, by which time I was extremely stressed about being late for my appointment. But everyone at the Nightingale Centre could not have been more lovely. It is a what they call a one-stop-shop for breast care. First I saw a doctor who checked out the lump, and also agreed that it was probably a cyst. Then I went for a mammogram. I've seen pictures of women having it done but I had no idea. "The breast is placed on the X-ray machine and gently, but firmly, compressed with a clear plate. Two X-rays are taken of each breast at different angles. Most women find the procedure uncomfortable and can occasionally be painful." Breasts really are not designed to be crushed like that; uncomfortable has to be the understatement of the year. Then I went for an ultrasound and had the cyst drained with a needle. That made me nervous, but it did not hurt a bit. A tiny amount of dark greenish fluid was all that came out of it. The doctor said she was satisfied that there was nothing there to be worried about. The whole thing took only about an hour and a half. I came away very reassured.
