On January 13, 2017, I went in for a routine breast exam. I turned 37 in December and had no worries - I'm too young for cancer. Right...?
The doctor found a lump in my left breast pretty easily and sent me for mammograms. Most women don't even get their first mammogram until the age of 40... I had two different types of mammograms on January 18, along with ultrasounds. On the exact same day, I also had needle core biopsies on masses in both breasts.
On January 20, I got the call. It was cancer.
The doctor found a lump in my left breast pretty easily and sent me for mammograms. Most women don't even get their first mammogram until the age of 40... I had two different types of mammograms on January 18, along with ultrasounds. On the exact same day, I also had needle core biopsies on masses in both breasts.
On January 20, I got the call. It was cancer.
Time became a blur in an instant. I had appointments with surgeons and oncologists and radiologists, physical therapists, social counselors... you name it.
When I met with the breast oncology surgeon to plan my mastectomy, he drew the photo below. I had to keep it! After breast feeding two babies, the "girls" were not quite as perky as they used to be. He drew me this drawing to explain why I couldn't keep my nipples. He used his fingers and said "your nipples point like this" (pointing to the floor) and then said "you could only keep your nipples if they pointed like this" (and he pointed straight out)... hence, we began the planning for a double mastectomy with no nipple sparing.
The mass in my left breast was estimated, from external exam, to be approximately 4-5cm in size. However, the surgeon was convinced it was contained within the milk ducts, despite the size. Cancer which is contained within its original structure is considered non-invasive. That's great news! Non-invasive cancer is essentially cured with a mastectomy - no additional treatments needed.
We scheduled a bilateral (both breasts) mastectomy for February 22, 2017.