I can not stress enough that you are your biggest health advocate. 2 1/2 months after my 29th birthday, I had breast cancer. We did not know it at the time; we only knew something was wrong. I was physically fit, playing indoor and outdoor soccer several nights a week and coaching high school athletes; I ate well-balanced meals; I weighed appropriately for my height; I have never taken an illegal drug, nor grown up in a smoking home, and with the exception of one puff of a cigarette the night before I graduated college, I do not smoke. Even with all this goodness, I was not immune from a rotten disease.
I am a 17 year breast cancer survivor, and I have a most important recommendation for every girl. Once-a-month, same date each month, give yourself a breast self-exam. Even if you are very dedicated in visiting your Ob/Gyn annually, that is a one-time exam every twelve months. A breast self-exam is twelve exams in twelve months. Why is this important? The first of each month is my BS-E date. 1 July 2012, everything was fine according to my BS-E. On Saturday 28 July I accidentally noticed a lump. On Monday, I had a mammogram scheduled for Tuesday, Ob/Gyn scheduled for Thursday, and my Primary Care Physician scheduled for Friday. At the mammogram, I knew the radiologist would read the scans as soon as they were taken, but I was surprised when I was told there were multiple lumps. I then was taken to have sonograms, which showed a 1cm, side-by-side 2cm and 3cm lumps in the left breast, and a 6cm lump in the right breast, which is the one I'd discovered.
For whatever reason, I wasn't worried; in fact, the novel I was reading was at a really good part, so I just continued to read while waiting. In November, I'm walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-day/60-mile Walk and following their training schedule, which has us at 24 miles this week (13 weeks until The Walk), so I know I'm getting an appropriate amount of healthy exercise. Eventually, the radiologist came in and talked to me, after reading the sonograms and mammograms. All the lumps are cysts--benign cysts. After talking a bit, the radiologist who has a good sense of humor, said the 6cm lump was like a free breast enhancement. Ob/Gyn visit showed no other cysts elsewhere and a good, healthy body. PCP took lots of blood with results due Monday.
My annual woman's health exam is usually in November. Never doing a breast self-exam, depending upon the physician to do it for me, means that in the time frame that I will have these cysts treated, the cysts would have continued to grow for four more months. Cancer is rotten. Advocate for yourself, your family, your friends, and your life. Save the Ta-Tas with a MONTHLY breast self-exam. Period!
