I have had four so far. The first was at the James Cancer Center when they suspected my MGUS levels were progressing. The nurse performing the procedure was very professional. She used a lidocaine for the local. The first couple samples weren’t a big deal. She prepped me for the last sample and said it was going to hurt pretty bad, but I would only feel it for a couple seconds. Everything occurred exactly as she described.

The second one was at a hospital in Phoenix that I’m not going to name. Since I had one previously, I didn’t have any concerns with just having lidocaine as a local. I suspect that was a combination of not doing many of these previously and a complete lack of skill. Even the first samples hurt pretty bad. Everything she described to me that was going to happen was wrong. I thought I knew what to expect from my previous one. That last sample that would hurt the most, she didn’t get a sample. She wanted to cancel the procedure because of the pain she caused. The hospital was a hour away from where I lived and I was not about to make another trip taking time off work. I told her to proceed with another attempt. There was significant pain, but she got the sample.

Fortunately for me, the hematologist at that hospital recommended that I continue care at the Mayo. I wasn’t aware that there was one in Phoenix at the time. It turned out it was only thirty minutes away, so it was a big win for me. I have had two more biopsies at the Mayo within the last sixty days. Because of my previous experience, I didn’t what to play the skill set lottery again. I went with the general anesthesia for both procedures. I had a different nurse for each one with the same anesthesiologist for both procedures. She did her undergrad at OSU, so we had a lot to discuss. All involved at the Mayo were extremely professional. Everyone described what was going to happen and what happened was exactly what they said. The procedure even with the general anesthesia only took about a half hour. Zero pain was experienced with no issues experienced afterwards. The general may be a bit of an overkill for this procedure, but why experience any discomfort?

I can say that all the providers of care at the Mayo Phoenix have been very caring and very professional. The experience so far has me optimistic that I’ll be in good hands when I start my path leading up to my SCT on Friday.