What if I hadn’t stopped it at Stage 2?

When I went in my for my original breast cancer screening test, my doctor didn’t seem too worried. She felt around, doing the usual circular motions and two finger presses. She even checked the other side to compare. Knowing my body, I knew the lump wasn’t normal for me. But after Googling it at home, I was prepared for the doctor to say that it maybe was just a cyst. Those happen to young women. While she seemed unconcerned, saying it was likely just a “hardening of the breast tissue,” she said to schedule a mammogram as a result of my family’s history with breast cancer.

When I called to schedule the mammogram, the person on the other end of the line said that they weren’t scheduling any elective appointments at that time because of Coronavirus. They were waiting until June, nearly two months later. That didn’t sit right with me. I knew that my doctor had maybe thought it was nothing, but I also felt compelled to push for an earlier exam. And so I did. I reached out to my doctor and asked why this wasn’t a more imminent exam. The scheduler called back and got me in the next day.

This bruised picture was from after my biopsy where it was confirmed that I had cancer in not just my breast, but it had also spread to my lymph nodes too. Stage 2. Later that same unconcerned doctor found out about my diagnosis. She was so distressed by the news that in her voicemail to me, she even left me her personal cell phone number. She said that my story would be one that stuck with her for life.

Stage 2 could have so easily become Stage 4.

People are imperfect. Tests are imperfect. You are your best advocate, and you know your body better than anyone. So if you feel like something is off, please do not wait. Push for the test.