I officially dropped out of my March 50 miler, and am contemplating taking my name off of the Hardrock 100 waitlist. With December spent healing from failed root canal, and January getting needled in my lymph node and beast, I have been less than interested in long runs. Not to mention more tired and sore than usual. I am not upset about it all, I think I have accepted that this winter I will spend more time on the couch, catching up with some good books than I will on the trails.
February is shaping up to be more of the same. I met with a surgeon at the Duke Cancer Center this week to discuss the biopsy findings. The conversation was very helpful. A study looking at radial scars and FLA reported a 2-30% cancer risk…thats a huge range! The surgeon explained that my situation is more like 5%, but possibly higher because I have some other risk factors.
She was open and honest said there were two really good options. Option one is to have more extensive mammograms every 6 months for the next few years, and maybe more biopsies since I have such dense breast tissue thats really hard to see anything in, or I can have the tissue removed and just be done with it.
On the one hand, the more conservative approach seems kind of nice, (no one wants surgery!) but on the other, if I have learned anything about my past medical issues….its best for me to nip things in the bud. Rather than every 6 months be right back here having breast pain for several weeks after biopsies, and not getting to do things I love, like be outside and walk the dogs, run and lift I am opting to have surgery to remove the tissue. I don’t want to spend the next few years getting re-poked if I don’t have to.
First I will have a small radioactive “seed” placed at the location, similar to the core needle biopsy I just had. It will help guide the surgeon to the area that needs to be removed and it will come out, along with the little metal clip that was placed to show the location of radial scar. Then I will have an excision biopsy (small surgery) to remove the tissue.
I was told this should hurt less than the two biopsies I just had, but time will tell. I will report back.
In the meantime I have been exploring some different types of movement and body awareness classes that don’t require much muscle activation. One in particular I like is a Feldenkreis class at Balanced Movement. It’s learning about how to make smaller refined movements in the body that bring awareness back to movements we may have lost as we age, sit, or engage in repetitive movements ( like running). We have had a lot of focus on the hips, pelvis, ribcage and diaphragm. I have noticed more ease of moment and a bit more relaxation of my diaphragm, which has translated a bit to my nervous system being a bit more relaxed as well as down my legs to my hips and ankles.
What a crazy life, last year I was gearing up for one of North America’s toughest races, Hardrock 100, this year; well not so much. I’m gearing up for some time on the couch with some good book recommendations from friends.
Trail Wisp(erings) 