Beyond the Mammogram: 11 Awareness Facts I Discovered After My Advanced Breast Cancer Diagnosis

It was a stunning beach setting for an evening of empowerment and education as Dr. Richard Reitherman and I tag teamed to discuss breast health, dense breasts and breast cancer screening. The evening began with a reception, overlooking the Pacific, in Huntington Beach, California. Health care providers, breast cancer survivors and Orange Coast residents listened intently as Dr. Reitherman discussed adjunct screening technologies for dense breasts and I recalled my common story of missed cancer by mammogram. My unanticipated advanced cancer diagnosis in 2004 compelled me to take the bumpy road less travelled, which fueled a grassroots movement across the globe. Eleven years earlier, on a cold, dark, snowy evening in February in Connecticut, I arrived a bit early for my 6:30 p.m. appointment to meet with a breast surgeon for the results of a recent breast biopsy. I was more stressed about being on time for my biopsy results than hearing the actual results, as my job at the State Department of Education was in Hartford -- at least an hour commute on a good day, and I left at peak traffic time. For the past seven days, while I dressed and undressed, my eyes immediately settled on my right breast where the colors of black, blue and now yellow surrounded a small bandage from the needle biopsy. Other than my husband Joe, I only revealed to a few close friends that I had a breast biopsy. I had no anxiety about receiving a cancer diagnosis; after all, the suspicious lesion that...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news