I had my pelvic ultrasound today, to have a closer look at the outer surface of my ovaries and check for any lumps and bumps.
I thought I would be having the abdominal ultrasound and then the internal vaginal one but I only had the external scan...which was great because I discovered I had run out of razors last night and couldn't shave my legs/bikini line! 

I had been given strict instructions to fill my bladder...to drink two litres of clear liquid an hour prior to the scan not to go to the loo. 
All I can say is I'm glad they were running on schedule because I was bursting! If they had made me wait I think I would have been sick!

The scan was absolutely fine, I didn't even have to take any clothes off. Its the same format as scanning a pregnant lady...the jelly was put on my tummy, under my belly button and the lady scanned for about a minute over my bladder...little bit uncomfortable due to needing a wee! 

She told me everything looked fine but I will get the official results together with the results from my blood test in a few weeks. 

Everything has quietened down at the moment...I seem to have got through the millions of medical appointments and I don't have to see my surgeon again until the end of April. I have to say I'm glad...I had no idea how involved this would be, what with all the appointments, it was really starting to get in the way of life!
I feel very calm. I think I have had so long to worry and then get used to the idea that I just feel ready to do it, there is no doubt in my mind that this is the right thing to do and that everything will be fine.

This morning I had my MRI scan; this is done within the 6 months prior to prophylactic mastectomy to ensure there are no cancerous cell changes in the breast. If there were changes detected these would need to be investigated before the surgery went ahead (if cancerous cells were found lymph nodes might have to be removed along with the breast tissue to ensure that the cells don't spread). 

I was quite excited about the scan; I have never had one before and it would make a bit of a change from my current schedule of cancer lectures, killing myself over assignment deadlines and seemingly constant medical appointments.
So off Sean and I went on our little day trip. 

I'm sure you all know this already but...an MRI scanner is a very big, powerful magnet that looks like a doughnut and makes an awful lot of noise.

You get wheeled into the hole of the doughnut and the magnet aligns the hydrogen atoms in the body...by some work of magic that I can only marvel at, this makes them detectable by the scanner and an image is produced. 
Quite amazing and I'm not going to even pretend that I understand how this happens (Wikipedia is a medics best friend).

I was asked to turn up for my appointment half an hour early as quite a lot of prep is required. 
I had been sent a questionnaire to fill in; this asked me various questions but was basically establishing that I had no metal in my body that might result in me being stuck to the magnet, which obviously wouldn't be good.

I then went into a changing room to undress from the waist up. You will be asked to turn up wearing trousers that contain no metal zips/buttons etc. I wore leggings (also make sure that your knickers don't have little metal buttons/bows/faffy bits!) but if you didn't have anything suitable you could just take your trousers off as well...You have to put a hospital gown on and this covers you down to your knees anyway.

Once I was dressed up in my hospital gown I had a cannula put in my arm (a needle with a port that the contrast can be injected into). It was placed in the crook of my elbow...where blood is normally taken from. This wasn't any more painful than having blood taken, the needle is secured and remains in the arm throughout the scan.

I then went into the scanning room; two nurses were present, one was setting up the contrast liquid that would be injected into the cannula half way through the scan and the other was sticking cod liver oil capsules on my nipples...no really.
Apparently this is a neat trick they have developed...it allows them to locate my nipples on the MRI images. 
Sean thinks they were winding me up...send your answers on a postcard!

Once the nurse had finished with her cod liver oil I had to get on the bed, I kept the hospital gown on and just let it fall open at the front. For most MRI scans the patient will be lying on their back but for the breast MRI you have to lye on your front.
The table has a hole for your face...much like a massage table...but it also has two holes for your boobs!
Once I had manoeuvred into position the contrast fluid was connected to the cannula in my arm (ready to be injected by remote control later during the scan), an emergency squeeze ball was placed in my hand (I was told it squeeze it if I felt unwell and someone would come rescue me) and some headphones were put over my ears (the machine is very loud so music is played into these as a distraction, the operator of the MRI also talks to you over these). 

Everyone then cleared out and the scan began. It wasn't as loud as I though and didn't last very long...I only got through the first five songs on the Now 80 album!
About ten minutes from the end the contrast was injected though the cannula by a remote control...this was really weird...the liquid felt cold and I could feel it spreading up my arm through my veins. This wasn't unpleasant...it was just a bit novel and quite a good lesson in vascular anatomy (I know I'm a sad medic).

The two nurses then came back into the room, helped me off the table and removed my new cod liver oil nipples. 
Apart from being a bit stiff from laying still I felt fine and as soon as the cannula had been removed I was free to go.

The results will be logged by this evening and will be with my surgeon within the week, if nothing is wrong the surgeon will discuss the results at our scheduled appointment in April. I presume if they find anything abnormal I will be notified much sooner.

I'm not going to worry about what the scan might reveal...it would be a waste of emotion and quite pointless. 
It will more than likely be clear but, as I'm only 20, my breast tissue will be quite dense so it might be that something looks suspicious but is actually nothing to worry about. There is also the chance that I have cancerous cells present...this is unlikely at such a young age but not un

I will just have to wait and see...and remember that no news is good news.