October is a special month for me. It is my birthday month, and a month that I celebrate 9 years of being free of Breast Cancer. Awareness is very important in treating this dreaded cancer, because with early detection you have a much better rate of survival. It is also important that the person diagnosing and reading your mammograms are board certified in that field.
I have always been vigilant about getting my mammograms, and feeling confident after having them that I was cancer free. Little did I know that many Imaging Centers are not trained to catch the very small pre-cancer calcifications that happen and can eventually turn into full blown cancer. I was at 3 different imaging centers in an 8 year period, and two of them missed the spot. Fortunately it was slow growing insitu-ductal, and I had a very well trained, Board Certified in Mammography, Radiologist the third time that caught it. After a Lumpectomy, removal of a few lymphnodes and radiation, I am cancer free.
I encourage you all to visit this website for up-to-date information on the treatment of Breast Cancer. http://nbcam.org/index.cfm
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4 comments:
Hi Loretta, first I celebrate with you this month, I'm so happy that you are still cancer free. Second..what great information. i would have had no idea. With this knowledge, i'll be certain to make sure that whomever I go to is board certified. With a disease like this and the thousands that are affected every year, you'd think this would be a requirement.
Hi Loretta, congratulations, and thank you for sharing your story. I also appreciate the information, both for myself, and for the patients and clients I work with.
You are welcome. As you know, it's all about Awareness!
I'm so glad that you've been cancer free for 9 years Loretta, that's wonderful. I hope you have lots to celebrate this year for your birthday. Thank you for sharing that link.
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