I am usually a bad patient with long periods between doctor visits, so it took everyone who knows me by surprise when I was adamant that I had to make an appointment for "a checkup" with no compelling reason. The phone call came, requesting a closer look at something on my mammogram, was not a great concern because I had experience with this happening, and knew the radiation I had for Hodgkins lymphoma when I was a teenager created calcifications. I knew what to expect...there would be a biopsy and it would be negative. And my next mammogram would start the process again. Except, they said I had breast cancer, which started my second cancer journey.
I am fortunate to have a close, supportive family, married a wonderful man just a couple years before this diagnosis, and have a group of amazing friends. My friends who were breast cancer survivors helped me get my head around the diagnosis. I have to give my medical team at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN utmost credit. All of them were caring and took the time to explain what I needed to know and gave me the best possible outcome. The great news was that I was diagnosed with DCIS, stage zero, in just one breast. Because of the previous radiation to my entire chest wall, I chose to have a bilateral mastectomy. Again, I was lucky in that choice because pathology reports showed I had atypical lobular hyperplasia in the tissue of the non-DCIS breast. I am a walking good news story about how valuable early diagnosis of cancer is and can be for long term good health. My personal motto for cancer is "fight it, beat it, and move forward". I want my nieces, stepdaughter and friends to know that while breast cancer is a devastating word to hear, it can be beaten if you are proactive and positive about the outcome.
Champlin, MN
