I had my first mammogram at age 48. My husband and I had moved from Canada to California for his job. I had never been for a mammogram as there was no family history and I had been told I wouldn't need one until age 50. Upon meeting my new Doctor she was a bit alarmed as she recommended mammograms start at age 40. We joked about it, she told me I was eight years late and I replied I was a whole two years early! When the results came back we were both shocked. There was a pea sized lump, very deep in the tissue of the right breast. It was a shock, living far from family and friends to be diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a lumpectomy and five and a half weeks of radiation. I would never have found the lump on my own. It was extremely tiny. I emailed all my friends and relatives, get a mammogram!!! Mammograms do save lives, I'm living proof.
Eleanor McLaughlinSurrey, Canada
