Yearly physicals are something everyone should do. It’s good to see if everything with the body is okay and to be aware of anything that isn’t. Here’s how a yearly physical saved my life.
The physical
In August 2022, I decided to take an interest in my health. I hadn’t been to a doctor in years, and a feeling urged me to find a doctor and return to a routine health regimen.
After searching online for doctors covered by my insurance provider, I settled on a doctor who used to be a Physician’s Assistant (PA) under my old primary doctor. We had worked together a few times in the past, and I liked her.
So I set up an appointment and went in. Everything went fine during the routine exam. When she finished the office exam, she ordered tests that would have to be done at other locations.
One was a mammogram. The American Cancer Society recommends women should start screening for breast cancer at age 40 (earlier if there is a family history) and yearly screenings between ages 45-54.
In that age range, women are urged to do monthly self brest exams.Even with all the breast cancer awareness, I have to admit I don’t do monthly self-breast exams. I did those when I was younger but haven’t done one in years. Sad, I know.
Additional testing
The mammogram was interesting. I had heard funny stories about how the breast is squeezed and twisted during a mammogram. Well, mine did get squeezed and turned too. It didn’t really hurt. It was just uncomfortable.
Anyway, a problem came up with some of the mammogram images. It turns out that my breast tissue was so dense that the machine couldn’t get a clear picture. So I had to get another type of mammogram. This one was designed for women with dense breast tissue.
I scheduled the test and went in for it. To me, it didn’t seem any different from the other one. However, I had to stay after the procedure to get the results.
I was told that I would need a biopsy. They had found calcifications arranged in a certain pattern. In the past, that pattern had indicated the presence of an abnormality. So I was scheduled for a biopsy.
The biopsy
The procedure was not as awful as I thought it would be. I thought there would be a lot of pain involved, but there wasn’t.
When the doctor inserted the needle to give me the local anesthesia, I barely felt it going in. First, I felt the pressure; like something pushing on my breast, but it didn’t hurt. At first. Soon I felt a sharp burning sensation, but it went away quickly.
After a few more minutes, I felt pressure like something was pushing on my breast. She asked if I felt anything. I said no. So, she started the procedure.
The doctor began to take samples from the calcifications. Those samples would be sent to pathology to find out if they are benign (non-cancerous), precancerous, or cancerous.
At one point during the procedure, I felt a stabbing pain in my breast. When I let the doctor know, she apologized and stopped what she was doing.
After getting the needed samples, she inserted a marker at the extraction site inside my breast. She said this was to let any future physician know what tissue had been tested. Once the marker was in, a few more x-rays were taken to make sure it could be seen on an X-ray. After that, I was patched up.
When I sat up, I realized how numb my breast was. It felt weird. One side of my breast felt like a rock, and the other side felt fine.
The recovery
Before being discharged, a nurse and I went over the aftercare instructions and the answers to any questions I had. Once I got home, I iced my breast and relaxed. That night, I had some soreness in my shoulder and neck.
After 24 hours, I removed the gauze and saw a thin strip of tape. This must be the Steri-Strip the nurse spoke of. Instead of traditional stitches, this tape was used to close up the wound.
I had been told to let it come off on its own. Overwise, if I tried to pull it off, the Steri-strip would take some of my skin off with it.
Now it’s 48 hours after, and there is some soreness in my right arm but other than that, I’m doing fine.
Photo by Alexandr Podvalny from Pexels
The takeaway
Yearly physicals are something everyone should do.
The first one I had done in years detected some abnormal structures in my right breast. It was something that could be cancerous.
After doing some tests, it turned out everything was okay. I shudder to think what could have happened if that voice had not told me to get my health in check. This is why I say a yearly physical saved my life.
Just saying!
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