The article shares a personal story of a woman's unexpected breast cancer diagnosis after a routine mammogram and ultrasound. Initially feeling healthy and low-risk, she faced overwhelming news of multiple suspicious masses and underwent bilateral mastectomies. After surgery, she learned that her disease was more extensive than initially thought, necessitating a more aggressive treatment plan that included chemotherapy. This experience emphasizes the complexity of breast cancer and the importance of routine screenings, regardless of perceived risk factors.
Having counseled thousands of patients through their breast cancer diagnosis, I was fully aware of how nondiscriminatory this disease could be.
I never expected to have high volume, lymph-node-positive disease.
I elected to have the uninvolved breast removed for prophylactic reasons.
Final pathology came back, revealing more extensive disease than initially anticipated, and resulted in chemotherapy addition.
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