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Health Update: The Doctor Called

The doctor called with my test results. Men (and some of the women), you may not wish to read this.  Proceed knowing you are venturing into TMI territory.

The doctor said that he’d removed an intraductal papilloma from my breast.  The words are big and scary, but what he took away was a very tiny, benign cyst.  The doctor said that intraductal paploma cycts are akin to warts, except these warts grow only in milk ducts.  Apparently they are very common but they seldom bring any attention to themselves. In my case it had actually punctured the lining of the milk duct and the resultant blood seepage found an outlet via my nipple.

I am also given to understand the the condition is usually painless.  I am certain that the doc now thinks I am a baby, but I am here to tell you, there was nothing painless about it.  It felt as though I had a tiny hot coal sitting on my nipple.  While the pain wasn’t excruciating, it was constant.  Any pain, 24/7 saps energy.  My pain wasn’t caused by the papilloma itself, but by the resulting infection in the punctured milk duct. Add to that worry because my family has a horrific history of breast cancer, and I actually think I stayed pretty calm and level-headed during this whole thing.

Now, about that word, benign, check the dictionary.  The definition is “kindly and benevolent”.  The pain I was in felt neither kindly nor benevolent and I told Amoeba so.  He responded that he was pretty certain it was much more friendly than anything attached to the word “cancerous” would have been.  I have to concede that he has a point.

42 Comments

  1. I am so glad the news was good. And don’t let any one belittle your pain. Mention the word “vasectomy” and men whine like babies.

    🙂

  2. I’m sorry you had to go through it in the first place, but SO glad it doesn’t indicate the start of a longer, harder battle! I think if I’d gone through those symptoms, the fear alone would have been too much to handle — because plenty of cancers have milder symptoms than that.

    Now, stay well!

    (and I love your new sidebar portrait btw!)

    1. Susan — it helped that after seeing it, the doctor wasn’t rushing the test results and he made my follow up appointment for 3 weeks later. When I asked if I had anything to worry about he said, “I don’t think so, but we’ll run it past the lab to make sure.”

  3. Glad that everything is okay. I knew it would be. LOL How I don’t know but I just knew it. Charley was soooo right on the mark. Let’s hear it for the boys!!!!

      1. I’m sorry Thom. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It’s like Charlene said – It was a dense question.

        1. You did not hurt my feelings Karen at all. You just go around saying things about me that are just pointless. I don’t know where you and I got off to such a crappy start, but it was a comment on my blog a long time ago. I didn’t know you from Adam and you just went off and I responded in kind. My whole point to this is you can say whatever you want about me. My skin is as thick as shoe leather. However, do it on my blog so I don’t have to be surprised or be told by someone else “Did you see what Karen said about you?” I’m not trying to pick a fight or get you to quit being how you are. I find your comments usually very amusing to say the least. I’m as sarcastic as they come. I do it all in fun. You would know that if you followed my blog and saw how I am. My bark is WAY bigger than my bite. This all being said, I just say onward and upward. I have said my peace and I’m not going to ever bring this up again. I don’t operate like that. What do you say we get to know each other hmmm? Happy 4th of July.

          1. Thom,

            We got off to a really bad start at the Waking Ambrose blog, which is where I met you in the first place. You leave odd comments there sometimes.

            There. I said it. And I’ll say no more.

            ~K

  4. I’m so glad that everything is ok! Anything like that is no fun at all! Next I love your new photo! Take care, hope you can do something fun over the weekend! And hopefully we’ll see a little sun!! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Quilly!

    Sylvia

    1. Sylvia — Amoeba is in the parade marching band, and he’s in the band that will kick-off the after parade wingding, then we’re coming home to our neighborhood block party!

  5. Love your new sidebar photo! I’m glad the results of your tests were positive. I might have been a bit more unglued than you have appeared to be!

    1. Beth — see my comment to Susan, above. It also helps that my other half has a PhD. He’s not a doctor, but as a scientist, he speaks the language.

  6. I’m so glad that’s “all” it is, though I don’t mean to belittle it. Pain, infection, discomfort are bad enough as it is, but the fears of what it could be compound that all the more, and I am glad it’s not cancerous and not ominous. I hope all is healed enough now that it is not bothering you at all any more, and that this good news can help put it all to rest.

  7. Thank goodness! What a relief! I don’t like the idea of pain at all so I’m glad that part is over with… I hope. I gotta tell you blood from a nipple would have freaked me out.

    1. Kay — well, the blood from the nipple thing certainly got my attention. Like you, I am not one to go to the doctor, but I made that appointment toot-sweet!

  9. Praise the Lord for He is faithful in all things! And if the results had been less cheery, He would still have been faithful, true?

    So, for TMI purposes, having nursed two kids, with the accompanying occasional infection, there is NOTHING painless about that region. I think Nessa is right – location, location, location…and yes, men have their locations that cause them to turn green with associated with pain!

    1. Kelley — then you would have known not to believe the doctor when he came at me with the needle and said, “I am going to stick this in your nipple and it might sting a little.” And yes, God was faithful through this entire ordeal and he kept me calm and focused.

  11. Hot coals are nothing to scoff at (our pretty-haired one).

    (Did Thom really call Amoeba “Charley” when he was a guest in your home?)

    .

    .

    2. Okay Karen listen up and listen real good! You have questions and comments about me you leave them on my blog. I’m tired of your foul mouth saying the things you do about me all over but NEVER on my blog. Out of respect for the bloggers you have left those nasty comments I have just tolerated them. Here however it’s a different story. You have no idea about my relationship with Quilly and CHARLEY! Further it is none of your business what I call anyone. That is between me and the other party AND ONLY US!

      Q if this makes you mad I make no apology. Just say so and it will be my last comment on your blog. I don’t mean this as a threat at all. I’ve had enough of her.

        1. I tried the gentleman approach long enough and she just doesn’t know when to quit. So it’s not really a matter of snapping it’s about telling a woman with no regard to what she says about any one how cows really do eat cabbage.

          1. Thom, here you are welcome to do what you must. Know that if her comments are insulting, I will delete them. This one seemed more dense than malicious.

  15. Ooooh man,
    I am so sorry for your pain but INCREDIBLY relieved and happy to hear that you are not dealing with anything more serious or complicated.

    Benign may not be as descriptive as you’d like but it is infinitely preferable to the alternative.

  16. I’m so glad that things came back the way they did. But also sorry for your pain. Hopefully now, things are healing up nicely. 😀

  17. Quilly, I am SO happy to hear it was, in the end, nothing nasty and horrible. When I was 18 I had to have a lump removed from my left breast. A very scary thing, to say the least!! It is such a relief to find out that it is ‘nothing’.

  18. Oh Quilly, you certainly have my sympathy AND empathy. As someone who struggled to breastfeed without pain for months, had mastitis twice and had to endure triple testing for suspected breast cancer (including a mammogram where my shoulder was shoved into the machine and a biopsy where they jabbed me repeatedly) I know exactly how stressful and painful this must have been.

    So glad it was benign.

  19. I am happy you are getting better. I am also very happy it is nothing tragic. Dont let that doctor cut you open again! Especially if there wont be any pictures to share. I think tomorrow I am going to call the hospital and get a copy of my gallbladder-ectomy and post it. I think I will loose one of my two followers by doing that but its so worht it. But I am really happy you are on the mend. 😀

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