I was a Zero Risk Factor for Breast Cancer and was Diagnosed with Stage 3 Lobular but Never, Ever Found a Lump

December 2017

There is no history of breast cancer in my family.

I don’t smoke and have not been on birth control pills since the age of 31.

While ALL women & men are “at risk” for breast cancer at a baseline level (hey, if you have boobs you CAN get cancer there!) some women are at a much higher risk than others.

Breast cancer has never, ever been a concern for me. At all.

I always passed the physical breast exams. Including my last one on September 22, 2018. Go figure.

And, I do self exams to check for lumps, just like I’ve been told by the “think pink” October breast cancer awareness materials.

Here’s a reality I never knew until October 27:  you can get breast cancer without finding a lump. And, some breast cancers are not always visible in mammograms.

I have Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, and it was thought to be a borderline Stage 2 cancer when I was diagnosed. It is invasive, meaning it had spread from its point of origin and is no longer in SITU. Lobular breast cancer affects 20% of all breast cancer patients.

My type of breast cancer does not always show itself in mammos. It’s shy, and it likes to hide, lurk, spread and grow in dense breast tissue.

As a matter a fact, my breast cancer did not even show up on the diagnostic mammogram (which is more detailed than a standard mammo) nor was it visible in the ultrasound.  My breast tissue was too dense for the cancer to be identified. So, a biopsy was ordered.

Seriously? Me? A biopsy?

I had JUST started a new job that I was loving, plus this biopsy news came smack dab in the middle of tailgate season! Instead of making Hot Corn Dip and Fried Mac & Cheese bites, I was on the web actually researching BREAST CANCER.

I was terrified, because my very first thought was could I be passing this horrible thing on to my adult daughter? 

Wanna know how I am doing now?!? CLICK HERE! To God Be The Glory!

My cancer was sneaky and hid from routine diagnostic tests. I wanted genetic testing ASAP to make certain my precious baby girl was not at high risk for breast cancer now that I had been diagnosed at 46.

Genetic tests came back clear – she is not at risk! Praise God!

I still don’t have a lump.  My left breast still looks totally normal. No visible “changes” that we are told to look for in exams.

I know my cancer was not hereditary. This is just one of those flukes that cannot be explained. Other women have reached out to me who also were at zero risk for bc and did not find lumps.

I am not alone.

And why me? is just not part of my thought process.

My God is bigger than my cancer.

I will #FightLikeAGirl . I will let other women know that dense breast tissue is a BIG warning sign…just like finding a lump.