In the beginning

A few weeks ago I went for a routine mammogram at North Shore Hospital in Sydney and was asked to return for a second session with the 'boob machine' and possibly a needle biopsy. I had just moved to the Inner West area of Sydney and was still without a local GP. So, I asked around and found a very impressive one by the name of Dr. J.B. I went to see her before the biopsy, feeling slightly sorry for her for having to sit through my lengthy litany of medical oddities. I must say that I was totally impressed with her and left feeling confident of the future.

Cutting a long story short, last week I returned to the good Doc. She was squirming a bit as she discharged her unenviable task of letting this unknown entity, this new patient, know that the biopsy was positive and it didn't look too good. Many dozens of tissues later, she organised a visit to a surgeon by the name of Dr A.S.

Well, I wasn't quite game to front Dr A.S. by myself, so my friend Judy Polgar came with me to listen and absorb whatever my addled brain tuned out during this visit. Although tired (I was his penultimate patient), Doc A.S. was thorough, kind and, most important, had a good sense of humour. My kind of guy - not to mention tall and good looking (:-).

"Ok, so what's the deal", you ask? Who knows? I am now navigating in iffy, iffy land. If the sentinel lymph biopsies (which he took yesterday) come back negative, this......... If they come back positive, that......... if the frozen sections in the operating theatre ............ You get the picture.

So, I've decided to take it one day at a time. For the past two weeks I was also fighting a pretty nasty flu, which is abating now, thank goodness, so I am setting up my affairs so I can go under the knife next Wednesday (4.October) with a clean slate. That means finishing my taxes, organising my freelance work, paying my bills and making sure that you my family and friends have a way of getting information from the horse's mouth without breaking the bank with your phone bills.

So, come with me on this journey. Who knows where it will take us, but we may as well do it laughing. Right?