Eleven years ago my friend, Linda, was on her way to the hospital for surgery. Before leaving she saw me out front and told me of a dream she'd had the night before where I had breast cancer. My friend passed away later that day. During the next few days I couldn't get her dream out of my mind. While dressing for her furneral I decided to do a self exam. I found a small lump in my right breast about the size of a pea. And I noticed that the skin felt different on either side of the lump. I made an appointment for my doctor to see me three weeks away. Days before the set appointment, I did another exam finding the lump was infact larger. The mammogram confirmed the mass and surgery was to be the next day. I remember waking with the hospital staff standing near me congratulating me. Although they said the mass was not cancer I didn't believe them and I would choose to wait for a second test to confirm. The results came back two weeks later. The mass did not contain cancer, however the area around the mass did. The doctors informed me as I was going into surgery that because I had done the self exam and acted on my findings, I would be able to one day call myself a survivor. I thank Linda for seeking me out that day. I now know how important self exams really are. The earlier cancer is detected the better chance you have of calling yourself a survivor.

Wendey Jensen
Olivehurst, CA