The Doctor(s) is in!

It’s a relief to know that my bloodwork taken in the ER came back clean. Without any working knowledge or background in phlebotomy, I can only assume that “clean” means “clear” of any disease and other bad stuff, like a clot. I kept my appointment with my GP regardless and it was here that I had my first real breast exam after I’d found a lump on my own. Actually, I had two exams.

RECEPTIONIST: Do you mind if Dr. Ross has a med student with her today?

ME: Not at all!

RECEPTIONIST: Great! Some people hate the idea of having someone else in the examination room.

I really didn’t mind. As someone who’s written the MCATs and once thought that a career in medicine was her intended path, I welcomed the chance for someone new to learn the ropes of family practice and bedside manner.

I don’t know what made me assume that this med student would be a woman, perhaps it was the nature of my visit. Yes, I had found a lump in my breast and you have breasts too, so you’ll be able to tell me if this lump is normal.

RECEPTIONIST: Trey will be right in to see you.

Wait now…

Trey sounded like a hot guy’s name.

I wasn’t waiting long before the door swung open and Dr. Trey walked in. What was it about ridiculously hot people and their need to become doctors? Like you don’t have it good enough. Frickin’ overachievers.

I forgot to tell you how familiar he looked. Turns out, we went to high school together. (He is a few years older than me.) High school was a rough time for me, aesthetically speaking. I was a little too tweezer-happy and wore a lot of denim. I also had a bottom locker which is the epitome of uncool.

Did he remember me?

Oh, he did.

Yes, Class of 2001.

Awesome.

When Dr. Ross finally came in, she was super friendly. I like her because she runs marathons and “gets me.” She performed a breast exam and then showed Trey how to do it. Two breast exams in one appointment!

Looking back, I’m actually grateful for the second opinion. Dr. Ross found the same lump I had found and reassured me that she thought it was probably just a cyst but that it was significant enough to book a mammogram. And maybe an ultrasound, too.

It was a two-for-one kind of day.