Can you feel the futility of it all?

The last few days, I've felt like nothing really goes how it should.

Tuesday, we knew there was a mastectomy we wanted to collect tissue from at the University Hospital. So we called over there, they said the breast was in the fridge ready to be picked up and taken to pathology, but we could come and pick it up if we wanted to. So I gather up my LN2, ice bucket, paperwork, and vials, put on my lab coat, and trek over to University Hospital. Upon arriving, I ask the OR front desk where the breast is, we look for it, but we can't find it. We call the OR and they confirm it was in the fridge we looked in, so the courier must have picked it up and taken it to pathology back at Huntsman Hospital. Because that's where the breast went, that's where I go, with my LN2, ice bucket, paperwork, and vials. I get to the gross room at Huntsman Hospital and lo and behold the breast is there! But... it's in formalin. It's already being preserved. We can't collect tissue from it. And so, dejectedly, I walk back my lab in Huntsman Cancer Institute.

Wednesday, there was a breast reduction at, surprise, surprise, University Hospital. We were really wanting to get tissue from it, because it's normal. Not cancerous, not "normal" but from a patient with the genes, but straight up normal. The researchers are running low on that stuff, since here at the cancer hospital, we don't get a lot of it. We called the nurses station, begging them to make sure we got consent. We called the OR, making sure they'd send it out fresh, not in formalin. The surgery is scheduled for 12:50. At 1:30, the surgeon is getting to the room. We figure it'll take 1.5-2 hours to remove the breast tissue, so we call back at 3, only to find they have barely made the incision. We scramble, trying to make sure the people in the lab will be able to take care of it and know what to do, and then I leave at 4:15, wondering if we'll get it or if everything will be screwed up. As I'm on the bus, I get a page at 4:40. The breast is out and ready to go. Finally. At least we got tissue from it. Now I just need to figure out the paperwork...
My life revolves around breasts... and prostates. And maybe blood, too...

However, good news: stay tuned for the recipe you all have been waiting for! The amazing Chicken Corn Sauté Stirfry!