13.5.2019
It’s that time of the year where I head off to see Mr Basu. Devilishly handsome consultant who did both my breast surgeries in 2017.
So many memories flood back when I get over the South Birmingham Breast Care Unit at the Women’s Hospital. Gill was there, one of the Breast Care nurses who looked after me. She looked at me and then looked again, smiling. I said “you don’t recognise with hair do you!” She laughed, as did I.
Sitting in the waiting room, I got speaking to a lovely woman. Anita. Her second appointment with Mr Basu. I told her he was fantastic and such a competent man. I remembered the time I was offered another surgeon to do my second op, removal of all the lymph nodes in the right armpit, as Mr B was on hols. I rang one of the BCT (Breast Care Team) and told them that I was happy to wait for him in his return. I didn’t want someone else going in and doing stuff with my body. Anyway, the other surgeon and I didn’t see eye to eye. Mainly because she wasn’t as respectful as Mr B.
So I’m undressed and Mr B says “Hello”! “Nice to see you Mr B”, I said. “How are you?”. He said fine and then leaned against the window side wall and asked me some questions.
“So how have you been since I last saw you”, I said I’m good.
“So how is the lymphedema in the right breast and how do you feel about it?” “Does it get you down?”. I told him, I’ve done all the exercises given to me but the lymphedema just seems to get bigger. I’d already changed bra sizes twice and well I wanted to be symmetrical.
He told me about all the risks and said with my complexities of the heart and all would I really want to put myself under pressure like that. “Mr Basu”, I said quite firmly. This was the man I had to convince more than twice as to why I wouldn’t have radiation or hormone therapy. “I think you know me very well by now, I’m a very positive person and don’t let things “get me down”. The only thing I’d like is to not be lop sided. With one boob at 38 C and the other at 38 FF!”. “I hide it very well but I know”.
He nodded his head and asked me to reveal the girls. “Hmmm, I can see they’re still very lymphedema filled. Yes I can see”, touching the left and then the right, ” I can pinch to left but not the right”.
“Okay” he said, asking me to cover up. I said to him, before we thought of the next stage of surgery, I’d like to wait for the next mammogram results. “Oh” he said, “when is your mammogram booked for”. I told him I hadn’t received any notification for it. He said he’d sort it. He asked me if I felt any discomfort or pain in the boobs.
Yes I told him, where the tumor was taken out, it hurts. In both armpits, it hurts and sharp pains are also felt in the left boob now too. “Okay” he said, “I’ll get an appointment to you for the mammogram”. It’s not due till September and once you’ve had that, we can come back and talk again. But in the meantime, if you’re feeling any lumps or more bumps, call back in and we will sort out a quicker Mammogram”.
With that Mr B said “anything else”. I said “no” and I got dressed and left.
So I’d felt better for letting him have a look see and could tell he was surprised at their condition. Still a few months for the appt. they come on or around the anniversary of the last surgery. In my case, that was around September. I’m okay with that.
Although the pain is there, I’m not overly concerned. If I saw a massive change, I would be onto them fast.
Another day in the world of me!
Thank you for reading xx
