Breast Check Up

Its time of the year again … Breast check-up.

I’m always very worry to go through this check-up, especially during the week leading to the appointment day. I wished I eat more healthily, exercise more regularly, take Evening Primrose Oil tablet which is too big for me to swallow, etc.

I first detected cysts in my breasts when I went to see a GP for a fever consultation. As it was a lady doctor, I requested for her to do a breast check up for me. I do not know how to do self breast examination.

I had my annual breast check up at Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre. I reached the hospital at 11+am and went straight to the specialist clinic to obtain ultrasound form.

I went over to the Imaging centre and waited for almost an hour before I was called in for the ultrasound. Thank God it was a lady doctor. There was once I had a male doctor and I felt uncomfortable with it and yet felt rude to request for a change. The doctor reminded me even though it's a male doctor, we can request for a lady doctor. That's our rights. I kept on praying while the doctor scanned through my breasts. I have bilateral breast cysts. Luckily, there’s slight improvement in the cysts. What a BIG relief.

The nurse told me that the ultrasound report would only be ready after an hour. After the stress that I went through, I decided to have a light lunch at Dome cafe which is located nearby the Imaging Centre. I ordered Flat White and Scone. I loved the Flat White but the scone was disappointing. Nina and I can make nicer scone.

Finally, the ultrasound report was ready after 1.5 hours ~2.30pm. I went back to the clinic for consultation with breast specialist. There were a few ladies there and they were chit chatting on breast topic. I didn’t mean to be rude but it’s an interesting topic and I was one of the patients there too. There was this Malay lady who had stage 2 breast cancer, went through chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She was sharing her experience with the other 2 ladies. She looked good, strong and very optimistic. I couldn't’t tell that she had gone through this period of trying time. She said she needs to be strong for his 12 years old son.

The other Philippine lady went through breast lump removal and she was there for her wound dressing and check up. Of course, all of us hope our breast lump, cysts, etc improve and not worsening. I felt like I must share this with them and I went “Sorry to interrupt, but I think Yoga is good”. I started Yoga about a year ago and since then, my breast cysts are lesser and smaller. I pray to God that it will continue to improve. The ladies were very excited to hear how Yoga has helped me and they decided to sign up for Yoga classes too.

One more note, when doing breast check up, we must remove our shirt and bra. Don’t just lift it up as the breast area is quite large and not just around the nipple area. By lifting shirt up only, we may not detect any lump or cyst on the higher part (12 o’clock position) of our breast.

More and more people are getting breast cancer nowadays. Probably due to our food and lifestyle. I remembered the first time that I was trying to fix appointment to see this specialist, my waiting time was more than half a year. The appointment for the day is always full. The specialist performs surgery in the morning and consultation in the afternoon. The ultrasound cost me RM130 and the consultation charge is RM100. Luckily, my employer covers my medical through ING.

My next appointment will be a year later and I will have to do mammogram and ultrasound. The specialist recommends every lady to have a mammogram at 40 years old and at every 2/3 years interval.

By the time I left the hospital, it was already 4+pm. I was in the hospital for 4.5 hours. I hope to remember to eat healthily and exercise more regularly now and not towards the next year appointment.