Tales of a lung biopsy.

I had a lung biopsy in the spring of 1999 because a chest x-ray revealed
an unidentifiable nodule (three years after the completion of chemo and
second look for ovarian cancer).  My gyn-onc wanted to open my chest but I 
put my foot down.  I was symptom-free and my CA-125 and transvaginal 
ultrasounds remained unchanged, so I decided to go with the 80%-reliable 
biopsy instead.  Piece o' cake.
	I got lucky, no chest tube, no hospitalization.
	It took too darn long. I was there for 3.5 hours.  They spent an
hour wrestling an IV into me that I didn't even need (because it took so
long to put in, there was no time to sedate me) while I grew ever more
nervous.  But the procedure itself wasn't so bad.
	They took me into the CT room and had me lie down on the sliding
table.  Got to keep my sandals and underwear on.  Then they began sliding
me in and out of the CT donut again and again, getting a fix on where the
nodule was.  I could tell there was a problem and eventually they came
back into the room and said, "Your breast is in the way.  We don't want to
stick the needle through your breast... that would really
hurt."  Tape.  First the standard kind, then the heavier brand.  Corset by
3M.  "You're not putting that across my nipple, are you?"  Oh, yeah.  And
it still didn't work.  I was starting to get really nervous... if this
biopsy didn't fly, I knew they were gonna want thoracic surgery
instead. Then someone got the bright idea of rolling me onto my side so
the boob would flop down out of the way.  I was also comfier on my
side.  They gave me a numbing shot (not as painful as a blood draw, I
promise) and inserted the needle (under my arm, going in sideways) and
slipped me in and out of the tube again.
	Next concern:  The nodule was under a rib.  The radiologist
advised me to blow out and hold myself empty... the nodule might pop out
under the rib and be accessible.  Then (this is the scary part, but
really, it didn't hurt) he bounced the needle up and down rapidly about a
dozen times while I held my breath (out), and we were done.
	They left me on the table for 10 minutes while they ran the sample
down to pathology for a quick peek to be sure they even GOT a
sample.  Quick trip in and out of the tube to check for
pneumothorax.  Back to tell me yes, it looked like they got a sample and
on initial inspection it looks benign.  Back to ambulatory services to sit
for an hour with my lungs and blood pressure monitored (watching for that
pneumothorax) and then they let me go.
	I was wiped out, from fear mostly.  Eventually, I did get
sore.  Felt like I had a little backache under my shoulder
blade.  Couldn't sleep on the biopsy side for 24 hours.  Got a little
wheezy.  They'd warned me that the biopsied nodule could bleed into my
lung, and I suspect it did a little.  Especially when lying down, I got a
sense of fluid in my lung.  But none of it was bad enough to send me
scurrying to an ER.  I was tired a lot, but I functioned fairly normally
over the weekend (walked the dog but didn't work out; have been advised
not to for a week).  
	So there ya go.  Anybody with questions, now or in the future when
you stumble over this in the archive, feel free to ask.  Rebecca Webb,
webbrl@morris.umn.edu