Week 7

I cannot believe that the program is already over; it feels like it just started! This week, I had the opportunity to see an MRI-guided breast biopsy. It was very interesting to see how it compared to the stereotactic, tomosynthesis, and ultrasound-guided biopsies. The general procedure was fairly similar with a few differences. Like the stereotactic and tomosynthesis-guided biopsies, an image was obtained in order to locate the area of concern. However, in the MRI-guided biopsy, they took a second image in which they injected the patient with contrast agent in order to locate the area with the highest amount of blood flow. After that, the doctor pinpointed the location on the images, and the computer gave her coordinates to show her where to place the core-needle. The patient was removed from the MRI scanner, and the doctor placed the needle in the correct spot, but then removed it and left behind a plastic guide sheath. This was left behind so that another MRI image could be obtained to confirm the correct placement of the needle, without the needle being in place. After verifying the placement of the needle, the patient was removed from the scanner again, and 12 biopsy cores were removed. The patient was scanned again to verify that the tissue of concern had in fact been removed. The doctor then placed a clip in the area to help with localization in the future. The patient then had a mammogram performed to ensure that the clip was placed in the correct location.

In lab this week, we performed a western blot of multiple cell lines to determine the content of various proteins of interest in these cells. It was the first time that I have done a western blot, and it was very time-consuming! We also started to perform more radiostability studies of our particles in various media. Unfortunately, I will not be here to see how the results turn out in the end, but hopefully they remain stable for several days.

Outside of lab, I am going to see Aladdin tonight! We also did another escape room and got out with 29 minutes left! I am going to miss the city and all of the things it has to offer, but I am looking forward to going back to Ithaca where I can be more relaxed (and everything is less expensive).