Biopsy = One Mean Needle (Skip if You’re Trypanophobic)
Ok, I have now donated countless gallons of blood over the years and am not afraid of needles. But I do have to say the stereotactic biopsy needle was a meanie. Once I arrived at my appointment, my physician explained the process, positioned me on top of a table with a hole for my breast to fall through, and took a series of mammograms. This part was actually much more comfortable than a regular mammogram because you have gravity to work with instead of against, so vise-strength breast positioning is unnecessary. I was so comfortable I wished they’d let me get my Kindle to help pass the time.
Next they administered anesthetic topically and then through a needle, again no big deal. At this point, I think they could have waited just a wee bit longer for the medicine to really take effect because when they shot the biopsy needle in with what sounded and felt like a construction nail gun, I realized that it felt like a large needle was being shot into me with a nail gun. This I could feel, not a huge amount, but enough to know I really, really didn’t like it.
It seemed like the needle then rotated and suctioned out six 1cm spaghetti like pieces of tissue and I was almost home. Several more scans, insertion of a locater clip in the biopsy site, and lots of praise for me for being a model patient (read: no peeps). The entire process took maybe 40 minutes.
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