I am a 50 yr old, active, and healthy plant based vegan. In early May 2017 I found a small lump in my left breast by chance. I was not doing manual exam.
Mid May I went and had a manual exam, 3-D mammogram and ultrasound at a breast center.
The 3-D mammogram report stated I had 'extremely dense breast tissue' and they didn't see anything-all looked normal.
Then I had a ultrasound immediately following the 3-D mammogram the same day which showed a mass that was 'suspicious.' No biopsy was done at that visit.
I wanted a second opinion at a local diagnostic center I trusted. So I had a subsequent 2nd ultrasound in early June 2017. The Radiologist agreed that the mass was suspicious and a biopsy was performed the same day. Within 2 days I had results, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, stage 1A.
I was lucky as my cancer, while invasive, was small with no involved nodes. I had a lumpectomy and I chose to not take any hormone blocking medication or have radiation with my oncology doctors support.
If I had caught my cancer later my story I'm sure would have been very different.
My cancer was never seen on 3-D mammography.
When would they have caught it!? If I had not felt the mass when would it have been caught?
Nobody has EVER told me I have more risk of breast cancer because I have dense breast tissue! They also have never told me to go have more screening tests such as ultrasound because of my dense breast tissue.
Now that I have had breast cancer and have dense breast tissue I will never have another mammogram. Only ultrasounds or MRI will be performed on me.
My oncology doctors support my opinion on that. Thousands of women with dense breast tissue need better screening tools such as ultrasounds or MRI vs mammograms that cannot see our tumors!
I am sharing this with anyone who will listen! I don't want other women to learn this information the way I did.
Portland, OR