My First Breast Cancer Journey - The 18-Month Gap from Feeling to Finding Out - FITBODY Podcast Episode 20

When I was 44, I felt a palpable lump in my left breast, small, but actually visible beneath my skin. Over the next year and a half, I had multiple doctors appoints, each followed by diagnostic mammograms and ultrasounds. With my dense breast tissue it was difficult to image, but the thought was that this lump was a fibroadenoma. The best course of action, watch and wait. I was scheduled for follow-up mammograms and ultrasounds every 6 months. Finally, at 46, after meeting our medical deductible for the year, I pushed to have that small lump biopsied after one of the follow-ups. When the diagnosis of Invasive Lobular Carcinoma - Breast Cancer, came back, I was totally caught off guard and devastated. In this podcast, I take you through that initial diagnosis, my decision to have breast conserving therapy with the combination of a lumpectomy and radiation followed by hormone therapy with tamoxifen. I am lucky to have caught breast cancer early through monthly self breast exams. I hope my story empowers women to be their own health advocates, to listen to their bodies, and to stand up for what they need in medical care. But this is just part one of my story... check back for my podcast on my second breast cancer diagnosis. Check out my full breast cancer journey here: https://julielohre.com/my-breast-cancer-journey/ https://julielohre.com/second-primary-breast-cancer/ https://julielohre.com/importance-of-self-breast-examinations/ At FITBODY Podcast - Breast Cancer Awareness Month - My Breast Cancer Journey