Oliver: Do yourself a favor, ladies, and go get that mammogram

“Do you know you have a lump on the right side?”

Those words spoken by a nurse practitioner in March 2019 changed my life. I hadn’t felt anything unusual in my breasts when I did self-exams.

If I’m honest, I wasn’t exactly diligent about those self-checks. I wasn’t regular in getting mammograms, even though I was over 50.

Breast cancer doesn’t run in my family, and my diet is on the healthier side. I’ve never smoked and I’m not obese. In my mind, I had nothing to worry about.

The previous few years were spent taking care of my elderly mother, who came to live with us in 2014. Over time, her vascular dementia worsened to the point where every day was a constant struggle to take care of her and keep her safe.

When she died in April 2018, I was busy with getting her affairs in order and shifting my focus to my husband, who had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease in August 2015.

In other words, I made a lot of excuses, even if they might seem to be good ones.

I hadn’t gone to the doctor’s office that day in 2019 for a breast check. I was there for a different reason that at the time seemed far more critical.

When the nurse mentioned the lump, I sort of half heard it. After the exam, she handed me a piece of paper that she folded in half. She said I needed to follow up on the bigger problem first but not to ignore going for the mammogram.

It was only when I got home that day that I looked at the paper: I needed a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound to identify that lump.

Again, I tried my best not to worry too much, but I did follow up. I was sure this wasn’t going to be anything serious. After all, hadn’t I been dealing with enough already?

When the radiologist came into the room after the ultrasound and matter-of-factly said the lump looked malignant, all I could do was respond with a bit of sarcasm: “Of course it is.”

After that, it was whirlwind of biopsies, MRIs and meetings with surgeons. Some calcifications on my left side made it necessary to not only do a lumpectomy on my right side, where the tumor was found, but also on the left.

So in June 2019, I underwent a double lumpectomy. Some lymph nodes were removed on the right side as well to make sure the cancer had not spread. Thankfully, it had not, and it was determined that my tumor was not a fast-growing one. More relief.

In the end, my tumor was determined to be Stage 1 cancer; those calcifications were deemed to be Stage 0, indicating pre-cancer.

Still, despite not having to undergo chemotherapy, I did have to do a month of radiation treatments on my right side. That wasn’t too bad; the doctors and staff were friendly and knowledgeable.

Since then, I’ve been seeing my medical oncologist monthly to receive injections that not only help to keep my cancer from coming back, but also address the other medical issue I was dealing with. I also take a pill daily to keep my estrogen levels low.

My side effects have been hot flashes and a little bit of achiness in my muscles and joints. Annoying? Yes. But I’ll take them if it means I don’t have to go through another battle with cancer.

I’m about halfway through my five-year treatment plan, and I look forward to the day when I’m officially declared cancer-free.

I shudder to think how long I would have waited to get that mammogram had it not been for my medical emergency on that day in 2019. Would the tumor have spread? Would I have needed chemotherapy?

That’s why I now beg every woman I know to go get that mammogram. Yes, it’s awkward. Yes, it can pinch. Yes, it’s not the most fun one can have.

However, as someone who speaks from experience, it sure beats the alternative.

• Joan Oliver is the former Northwest Herald assistant news editor. She has been associated with the Northwest Herald since 1990. She can be reached at jolivercolumn@gmail.com.