Finally, on 09/22/2014, Monday morning came and I waited till 8:15am to call the breast surgeon’s office.  A girl on the phone asked why I was coming in and I started crying, telling her I was told I have ductal carcinoma in BOTH breasts and I am not sure what is going on.  I didn’t know if I am dying in 3 months because it spread like wild fire, or if cancer was caught early, or did they find a tiny mass or what.  I explained how I was notified of my diagnosis and was left hanging all weekend, not knowing WHAT THE HECK was going on.  The front office girl stated what a horrible way of finding out my diagnosis and not getting full information.  She told me to call the nurse navigator who scheduled my biopsy.   The nice girl on the phone scheduled my surgical appointment for Thursday, 09/25/2014 at 8:30am.

I then called the oncologist and made an appointment for the same date of the breast surgeon, Thursday, 09/25/2014 at 1:30pm.   Then I called the nurse navigator, Diane.

I didn’t think Diane would remember me.  Normally, you have to leave a message and then nurses call back.  This time when I called, the nurse picked up the phone.  I said, “Hi, this is Nadine and I am not sure if you remem….”  “NADINE”, Diane says.  “Oh my dear, did you get your results????”  I stated, yes and how it was handled and started crying.  I was so emotional.   The nurse stated, “Who was this person’s name who told you your results, and to tell you the truth…. that was completely shitty how she handled giving the results, especially at closing time on a Friday.”  “Oh Nadine, I am so sorry and I am reporting that PA because how many others has she done that too and she needs to never report a diagnosis to another person that way again.”  The nurse asked who was my breast surgeon and oncologist.  The nurse stated I have the best surgeon ever and everyone loves her and wants to work for her.  Also, the oncologist is outstanding and both the oncologist and surgeon work very well together and will help fight this battle for me and I have the best team.  She also went on to say, if I had some other surgeon or oncologist and she didn’t care for, she would have directed me to someone else who was good, like my current surgeon.

Then the nurse stated I was one of the most wonderful, nicest, funniest, easiest patient to work with when performing the biopsy.  Everyone came into the office about an hour ago (Monday morning) and they all wanted to know if Nadine’s results came back.  They couldn’t wait for the news that it was going to be negative.  When they saw the results, they were shocked and dumbfounded.  Even the pathologist had to check to make sure that the results were not mixed up with someone else and they were so sorry to hear the news.   This is what the nurse navigator stated to me on the phone.

Lastly, the nurse says, “I am now going to give you your results, are you ready?” I sat down and said, “I….. am….ready.”  Diane spoke in a super slow, soft, and calm voice and stated, “Your right…. breast. You have NO mass, NO tumor, NO lump! You have ductal carcinoma…..in situ (I gasped in relief because this is the best kind of cancer to have).  She went on to say, “You have pre-cancer cells starting to form inside the duct and it is localized, and this Nadine….is cureable.”  “Next…..left breast, you have NO mass, NO tumor, and…..NO lump.”  “You have precancer cells that are starting to form inside the duct (Again, she says this super slowly, softly and calmly) and you have 1…. maybe 2 cells which is…..questionable that are trying to or did go through the duct, but still….holding onto outside the duct…..and did not separate from the duct.  You have……ductal…. carcinoma in situ with microinvasion ….. and ……..this……. is……… CUREABLE!”  What a relief of joy!