A routine mammogram saved my life
First published in Parys Gazette on 24 September 2020 I went for my first-ever routine mammogram in December 2017 when I was 43 years old. It showed no signs of malignancy. In July 2019, I decided to go for another screening, and the clinical report stated in big, bold letters: BIRADS category 5–85 per cent chance for malignancy. A second opinion at a different radiologist confirmed that I should go for a biopsy and a few days later, I received the devastating news: I have Stage 2 lobular pleomorphic breast cancer that is positive for hormone receptors and the HER-2 protein. I’ve learnt that there are many different types of breast cancer. My kind of cancer affects less than five per cent of breast cancer patients worldwide and it has a poorer prognosis than other breast cancers. The tumour in my right breast was small – it only measured 15 mm, which is why I did not feel a lump during my self-examinations that I do religiously. But because lobular pleomorphic breast cancer is s...
