The bracelet that anxiety bought

I indulged in a bit of retail therapy this morning. But first, the background story...

WARNING: some semi-icky medical stuff is about to be discussed.

On Monday I had my annual exam, that yearly bit of poking, squishing and general discomfort. This year I had a concern about a small, hard knot (never ever say lump) that was located just below my right breast. I wasn't overly worried because it appeared to have a head on it and I suspected that it was a sebaceous cyst, but because of its location and general overall paranoia, it still had me worried. Coral, the fabulous P.A. that I see, confirmed that it was a sebaceous cyst and she could easily take care of it.

Side note: Coral also congratulated me on the 14 pounds that I have lost over the past year, then in the next breath lectured me about my lack of exercise. Sheesh, can't we just be happy about the weight loss?

So, anyway, the nurse got the area all nice and numb, and Coral set to work to open and drain the cyst. She was able to get some fluid out but then said that she couldn't get it all out, that it didn't look right and that I needed to have it looked at further. She strongly emphasized that it still might be a sebaceous cyst but that a dermatologist needed to examine it and remove it, possibly to have it biopsied. I really don't think "biopsy" can be correctly made into a verb, but I just did. Get over it.

This morning was my appointment with the dermatologist. I had scheduled it for about 55 minutes after my tutoring session ended and since the medical office is located about a mile farther than the elementary school, I had a few minutes to kill. I went into a gift shop located in a shopping center across the street from the area hospital, in hopes that I could find Mother's Day cards.

I did not find Mother's Day cards. Instead, I found a fabulous selection of Brighton accessories. While not a Brighton fan per se, I think that many of their items are very pretty. Although I tried to tell myself that I was not nervous about the appointment, I was nervous...insanely nervous. Long story short, I bought a cool little bangle bracelet and wore it out of the store. It's called the Swinging 60s bangle, which I think is a hoot.
As I told the very fun store sales associate, the only swinging I did in the 60s was actual swinging on a swing.

So I went into my appointment wearing my cute little new bangle bracelet. And the doc took a look, poked a bit and declared that it was a sebaceous cyst - albeit a very firm one- and he would get it out in a jiffy. Repeat of the numbing and lancing, and tada, it is all over. Hooray! What a relief.

So, thankfully, sometimes a lump is just a sebaceous cyst. And ironically, my new bauble cost less than the seven gallons of gasoline that I put into my car on the way home!