On February 26th I felt a lump in my right breast. The next morning I rushed into my Doctors office in a panic. She felt it was just a cist but wanted to be safe and order a mammogram since I had not had one yet. I will be 40 in May and was due to get my first one this September. I was scheduled to have my gallbladder out on March 1st so I didnt get my mammogram scheduled until March 9th. Recovering from my gallbladder, I went in for my mammogram. Immediately following the mammogram they sent me in for an ultra sound then from there they said I had to talk to the radiologist. At that point I knew. He told me he saw something he didnt like and wanted a biopsy that same day. 2 days later my primary care doctor called me to tell me it was malignant. Infiltrating ductal carcinoma. I wasnt aware of the stage until 5 days later. It was stage 2. due to the tumor size being 2.3 cm.. Its triple positive. ER+/PR+/HER2+.. It can be treated with herceptin after surgery along with chemo. I chose a mastectomy with reconstruction. My surgery is April 23rd 2010. Having the mastectomy eliminated me from having radiation. So I opted that way.Plus my surgeon said by having the mastectomy, the chances of this coming back are very highly unlikely, so I am taking his advice. An MRI was done and it showed my left side is clear and my lymph nodes are clear. The surgeon will still do a biopsy of the nodes to be sure during surgery. I am told I am lucky thats its early. I am greatful for that.I am looking forward to being cancer free.

Toni Skane
Menifee, CA