Went to Thibodaux Regional Medical Center this morning at 6:00am for an 8:00am Core Needle Biopsy - Ultra Sound guided. My neighbors Evelyn and her husband Robert drove me there.
Was taken in right away and put on a bed in one of the outpatient rooms. Blood work taken. Vitals taken and my blood pressure was 225/85. They took my pressure many times throughout my stay. At exactly 8:00 I was taken in for the biopsy. The actual biopsy took about 10 minutes but I was in the room for about an hour.
Dr. Arthurs was very good at explaining the procedure and answered all my questions. I watched the monitor and could see what he was doing with the needle. He showed me how the center of the node was necrotic and filled with fluid. Said he would be taking the sample from around the edges of the node. Each time he snipped a sample he looked at it and said it was good. He took 3 samples and the last one was for cultures. I told him how concerned I was about the node pressing on the carotid artery and he showed me the carotid and the jugular and he assured me he would stay away from them.
I asked what the significance of the fluid was and he said that this is something he usually sees with cancer. I was almost relieved. That means I can get a diagnosis and finally begin treatment. I asked what would happen if it came back negative and he said he would suggest removal of the lymph node so it could be chopped up and they would eventually find out what it is.
I told him about the referral to the Rheumatologist next week and he said that they would do a whole lot of tests that may not be necessary and to hold off on the appointment till I find out the results of this biopsy. I was glad to hear that, as I have no symptoms of an autoimmune disease except for a positive ANA test. That's when he told me that he is also positive for ANA and he has nothing.
They kept me in a recovery room on a stretcher for about 45 minutes to continue to monitor my high blood pressure and to check for any bleeding. Then my neighbor Evelyn drove me home.
Received a call from my family doctor and was told that my Thyroid blood test came back normal. That's good news. One less thing to rule out. Now I just have to wait for the results of the biopsy. Waiting is so hard.
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