Dear group,
Since my mother died of breast cancer at 48, I have been diligent with my self exams. I had two biopsies on my left breast back in the
70's for benign lumps I had found and one duct system removed from my right breast in 95. I have been having annual mammograms
since I was 35. I remember being asked if I breastfed, many times at mammograms. (I did, 2 children for 18 months each). The
supposed protection against breast cancer figured into my decision to breastfeed, back when not so much was said about how much
better breastmilk is for the baby. I thoroughly enjoyed the ease of breastfeeding,... I wanted nothing to do with bottles and formula prep.
Ready-to-feed meant ME! I regretted being unable to breastfeed the newborns we provided foster care for in later years.
In 99, at age 48, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in my right breast. I don't believe the earlier surgery on that breast CAUSED the
cancer. I believe the earlier problem was a warning that was overlooked. I am concerned that women will avoid a biopsy of a lump
they find, if they think removing it will cause cancer later. In my breast cancer support group, several of the women had normal
mammograms, but insisted the lump they felt be removed to be sure what it was,.... and it WAS cancer. There are a couple of us who
couldn't feel the lump, but a mammogram showed it. There are a couple who had normal mammogram, normal self exam but a dr
found a lump that proved to be cancer later. I think women have to take advantage of all the screening methods available to them. Self
exam is a first step. You need to be familiar with your normal breast tissue, all the ridges, thickenings and thin areas, so you will be
aware of a change. I didn't feel my tumor. I saw a very subtle indentation on the skin when I bent to pick up a towel from the floor after
my shower. I recalled from Susan Love's book, that was a warning sign and went right in for a mammogram. I never felt the lump, even
after the doctor showed me where it was. I will keep doing self exams, though. And I will get my mammograms every year, and I will
ask any doctor that sees me (gyn, oncologist and primary care) to do a manual exam, because one of them may have a better "hand"
than another. And if I find another lump, I want it OUT, because they can't KNOW what it is until they examine it under a microsope.
Just my opinion,
Wendy
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