You have Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.

5 words no-one ever wants to hear.

Immediately my mind went to my 4 little kids . . . just 10, 8, 5 and 2 at the time. . . holy crap . . . will they remember me if I die? Will another woman end up raising them? Will another woman be able to love a child with a significant disability?

I remember hearing words like 85% survival rate . . . chemo . . . double mastectomy . . . and long road ahead.

The next year was a blur of doctors appointments, chemo, sickness, hair loss, exhaustion . . SO MUCH EXHAUSTION . . . surgeries, recovery, more surgeries.

And then one day in December, the doctor said “you are cancer free”!

4 words I was so excited to hear!

Why did I take you down painful memory road?

Because (thanks to a touch of OCD and anxiety) I had a habit of doing self-exams.

I found the cancer with a routine self-exam 3 years before I ever would have scheduled a mammogram.

That habit literally saved my life!

I don’t like to talk a/b cancer because it’s still very raw for me almost 9 years later.

So once a year I put on my big girl pants and remind my friends to do self-exams and get mammograms.

It could literally save your life!

Ok, so when should you do a self exam?

Peri-menopausal or post menopausal women who no longer have consistent cycles, should pick a day each month and be consistent with that.

Menstruating women should do a self-exam about 3 to 5 days after  period starts.

How do you do a breast self exam?

First – Don’t stress!  You don’t need to worry about trying to “do it right”  by staring a complicated images on the “how to” cards:

• while showering – just feel your boobs all over!
• while laying in bed –  just feel your boobs all over!
• while standing in front of the mirror – just feel your boobs all over . . . and look at their shape.

**Don’t forget under your arms and at the very top of your chest / breast area!!! You want to feel under your arms for increases in the size of your lymph nodes.

What should I do if I feel something?

First – stay calm!  It’s common to feel something and it’s often NOT cancer.

Call your doctor  if you notice any:

• Lump, “marble” or “thing” in the breast.
• Change in the look, feel or size of the breast and/or nipple
• Dimpling/puckering/pulling inward of the nipple or skin.
• Nipple discharge.
• Pain that doesn’t go away.
• Rash, warmth, redness, or dark spots on the skin.
• Swelling (one or both breasts)

BS Reasons I have heard people say they don’t want to do breast self-exams:

“I’m afraid I’m doing it wrong”

• Something is better than nothing.  Just feel all over.

“I’m afraid I will find something”

• Whether you find it or not it’s already there.  Survival rates are higher when you catch it early.

“I have so many lumps – I wouldn’t be able to tell if there was a new one”

• This is why it’s important to do it monthly so you know what is “normal” for you .  . . and  still get routine mammograms.

Final Notes:

• Create a monthly routine so you can remember to do this AND you can get familiar with what is “normal” for you and what is a new change.
• Self-Exams should NOT replace your routine mammogram / other screenings.
• Even though I have watched lots of Grey’s Anatomy . . . I’m not a doctor . . . this is just friendly advice from a breast cancer survivor who found her lump at 37. . . 3 years BEFORE I would ever have thought to get a mammogram.

If you are battling cancer and need a friend who has fought the same battle – I am here for you.