I knew the ultrasound technologist personally. She was a close, personal friend. By law, she does not read, nor suggest findings when it comes to diagnostic studies. Only a board-certified, Radiologist can do that.  Now granted, anyone who has been doing the job longer than five minutes can recognize certain  (obvious) things like internal bleeding or a small heartbeat, but my friend had nothing to offer. She couldn't say both within the confines of the law and because she was stumped. 

 

"Hmmmph. I have no idea what that is," she said. "....but it has it's own blood supply."
<gulp>

Normally, this sort of news means nothing and doesn't diagnose anything. However, one thing I did remember from my oncology rotation in nursing school  was that many anti-cancer pharmacological agents are designed to eliminate the blood supply to cancerous tumors. They are called angiogenesis inhibitors and have been very effective in certain cancers in preventing the spread or metastasis of the disease. A mass with it's own blood supply is no trifle finding. 

 

Soooo my peach pit had a blood supply, and I could see on the screen that it was significant. I spoke to the radiologist who suggested a breast MRI (another ominous occurrence), but  I waffled. The breast MRI was new and expensive and I still wasn't sure I wanted to throw the kitchen sink at  this thing,  sending Marek and I down the rabbit hole of expensive diagnostic tests. Unconvinced that more diagnostice imaging was going to give me definitive answers,  I went to see a surgeon, also a friend, who said,  "Let's stick a needle in that thing." 

 

2 hours later, I was a 44 year-old female with cells positive for metastic cancer, and down the rabbit hole of diagnostic imagery I went. Breast MRI, Petscan and  a tissue biopsy later, my fate was determined. I was totally screwed.