My story started the summer of 2010 with a friend who turned 40 and got her mammogram. She reminded me to get mine everytime I saw her. Since I skipped it last year, I decided I would get it this year. I kept forgetting to call and schedule it, then I started getting mailers from facilities where I had it done before. All that helped to remind me to scheduled my mammogram, which was followed by a sonogram (which is normal for me, because I have dense breast tissue), but that is where things changed. The radiologist said he didn't like what he saw and wanted to do a biopsy. I kept thinking it would turn out to be nothing. After all, I had my well-woman exam earlier that May and my doctor did a breast exam and felt nothing. I felt nothing. On August 5th I was diagnosed with stage 1 inductal carc. Two weeks later I had a bilateral masectomy and the start of reconstruction. No lymph node involvement. No Brac Gene and a low recurrence rate from the OncoType Test. No chemo or radiation needed, just Tamoxifen for the next 5 years. I'm very blessed. Through this experience I was reminded of how much I am loved by everyone I know. People I hadn't seen or heard from in years contacted me and gave me their love and support. I hated hearing that word "cancer", but from this experience, I got so much more than I ever expected.

Gina
Arlington, TX