The story of mybreast cancerdiagnosis is full of unlikelihoods.
A year and a half later, I know that unlikelihood doesnt confer actual safety.
People in their 30s get breast cancer.
Lauren Gray / Getty Images/STEVE GSCHMEISSNER
People in otherwise good health get breast cancer.
People with rare or few symptoms can learn that those symptoms are, in fact, from breast cancer.
When I look back, its easy to imagine how it all could have gone differently.
When those tests came back clear, I took an even bigger leap and requested an MRI.
I felt embarrassedmortified, actuallyat the thought of wasting an oncologists time and resources.
Cancer still seemed unlikely, but that ambiguous scan was enough to get everyones attention.
What if there hadnt been any pain at all?
Researchhas shown that younger people with breast cancer are more likely to experience diagnostic delays.
This can have devastating effects.
What I didnt know until after mydiagnosisis that I would have beenbehindschedule.
At age 55, they have the option of switching to an every-other-year schedule.
The key words here are average-risk.
High-risk individuals have their own set of screening rules.
I worry that women are not aware of current screening guidelines.
However, there are other risk factors that should trigger early screening, as theACSadvises.
Dr. Winer adds that theres another insidious way that you might be vulnerable to breast cancer without realizing it.
Being anything other than a middle-to-upper-class, partnered white woman puts you at higher risk.
But Dr. Winer also offers cause for hope.
Our treatments are better, and mortality is down.
We still have over 40,000 women dying from breast cancer each year, but there are300,000 cases annually.
Most women with breast cancer become long-term survivors.
Because my cancer was detected quickly, I was spared the most difficult forms of treatment.
I underwent radiation, but didnt require chemotherapy as part of my treatment plan.
My prognosis is, thankfully, very good.
While the majority of people under 40 dont need to get annual screenings, its important to know ifyoudo.
I wish I had.
Having gone through it myself, I know Id do just about anything to improve those odds.
