How did you find out?

This is one of the most common questions people ask. Did you find a lump yourself? Did your doctor find it? How did you know? I'll start at the beginning ... 

In September of 2014 I found a lump in my left breast. Boobs are lumpy feeling anyway, so I never thought I'd actually know if there was an abnormal lump in there. Trust me, you'll know. It's very different feeling, and you'll know. At the beginning of October I went in to see my gynecologist, secretly hoping she would tell me I was paranoid and that everything felt normal. Turns out she felt it too and sent me to UCSF to get a fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) done. She didn't think it was breast cancer, it didn't have the characteristics of breast cancer, it was likely a common benign mass called a Fibroadenoma. A couple days later my doctor called me and UCSF had confirmed her suspicions, it was a Fibroadenoma and totally harmless. I didn't need to do anything about it. 

In January of this year, I went back to that same doctor for my annual exam and told her I thought the lump had gotten a little bigger, plus it was sore. She referred me to a breast surgeon just for a consultation and to talk about having it removed. I got in to see the surgeon at the beginning of February and she had already reviewed the pathology results from UCSF. She's a thorough doctor and did a quick ultra sound in her office and she thought the mass looked a little abnormal so she wanted me to get further imaging done. A couple weeks later I had a more detailed ultra sound done, as well as a mammogram. The radiologist who read the mammogram thought it would be a good idea for me to come back in to get a core biopsy done. A week later, I did just that. 

Two days later they called me with the results and turns out it wasn't a Fibroadenoma at all. I was angry with UCSF for missing this. They're a great hospital, how did this happen? An FNA is a biopsy done with a very small needle, so the sample they get is not always the best. I wish they would have requested further imaging. I wish they would have done a core biopsy at the beginning. But they didn't and I'm lucky that I went back to the doctor a few months later and sought further opinions. 

Now that we know what we're dealing with, I have a team of amazing doctors on my side. I'm getting my first treatment this Wednesday, March 25. I have the dates of all of my chemo treatments written on my calendar. I'm waiting to count them down. After Wednesday I'll be 1/6 of the way through. Doesn't sound so bad. 

Ladies, go feel your boobs! Seriously, just do it. 

xo,

Ali