Discussing Breast Cancer

Breast cancer stories … every detail of each one matters. Today I’m going to share with you the first chapter of my story …

One day in May 2003, I began to feel some discomfort in my left breast. I didn’t have a palpable lump, just the feeling of an internal bruise. I stood before my husband in our bedroom one night and told him what I’d noticed.

“Do you think I have breast cancer?” I asked. The look he got on his face told me he thought I was nuts. I had no family history of breast cancer. I was only 35. He was only 29. We had two kids, two babies, only 2 and 4 years old. It just wasn’t possible I’d have breast cancer (so he thought).

“I think you’re crazy,” he replied. But he suggested I call my OB/GYN’s office in the morning just to make sure.

So on Tuesday, May 27th, I called and spoke to my OBGYN’s nurse practitioner. “It’s probably nothing,” she reassured me. “But since you are 35, you can get a baseline mammogram, your insurance will cover it. Why don’t you get one for peace of mind.”

See, a baseline mammogram at 35 years of age will allow future radiologists to have something to compare an image to when they take subsequent annual films starting at age 40. At least, that’s the concept.

About a month prior to all this I had visited the Fitness Edge in Westport, CT, a club especially for women, and had picked up a brochure for Norwalk Radiology and Mammography. The brochure touted the facility’s digital mammography and I thought state of the art was the way to go.

So I called Norwalk Radiology and Mammography and made an appointment for a baseline mammogram.

My appointment was for Thursday, June 19th. My mom took the kids for me so I was happily without dependents. I walked into the Suite for Women’s Imaging and relaxed instantly. There was soothing music playing over the sound system, there were hoards of women’s magazines to peruse, there was hot tea and clean gowns and I was … at peace.

I had my mammogram — that experience alone is a story for another day — but for now I’ll just share the feeling I had when I was done. Because I was elated. I was proud. I was empowered. I had embarked on a rite of passage that equaled no other I had experienced before. Taking control of your health feels downright fantastic. I called my mother and bragged about my prowess. I picked up the kids, went home and continued to chat on the phone while I futzed around the house waiting for my husband to get home from work.

At 4:30 pm that afternoon my phone rang. It was someone at the Suite for Women’s Imaging. They needed to see me again, they said, “tomorrow.”