The Mammogram That Changed Everything: A Personal Breast Cancer Story

Normally on Dishing with the DE Divah, I’m serving up tea about someone else. This time, I’m dishing about me: my body, my diagnosis, and the routine mammogram that changed everything. I recorded this episode on purpose, out loud and on the record, because I truly believe it could save somebody listening right now.

Listen: The Mammogram That Changed Everything: A Personal Breast Cancer Story

Quick Takeaways From This Episode

• My stage 0 breast cancer (DCIS) was found during a routine mammogram, with no lump and no symptoms.
• The waiting was harder than the needle. Knowing that ahead of time helps.
• You get a say in your treatment plan, so ask every question.
• If someone you love is in treatment, skip “let me know” and do something specific.
• Your homework: book your mammogram, book your colonoscopy if you’re 45+, and share this episode.

A Routine Mammogram, Then the Call

Last August, I went in for my routine mammogram. Nothing dramatic. I didn’t feel a lump, and I had no symptoms waving a red flag. I went because the calendar said it was time.

That’s lesson number one: this disease doesn’t always announce itself. Sometimes the only reason anybody catches it is because a woman showed up for an appointment she almost talked herself out of.

A few days later, I got the call. “We saw something we want to take a closer look at.” That’s all you get at first, and your mind goes everywhere at once. Next came a diagnostic mammogram (more images, more angles), then an ultrasound, then a biopsy. Then you wait. Honestly, the not knowing was the hardest part of the whole thing.

The diagnosis: DCIS, ductal carcinoma in situ. Stage 0 breast cancer.

Stage 0 Isn’t Luck. It’s What a Mammogram Is For.

Hearing the word “cancer” attached to your own name does something to you, no matter what stage comes after it. But stage 0 means they caught it early, before it had a chance to spread or become harder to treat. That is exactly what a routine mammogram is designed to do.

In the episode, I walk through what came next:

• Choosing a treatment plan. My care team and I talked through margins, lumpectomy versus more extensive surgery, and what radiation would look like. Write your questions down beforehand. This is your body.
• The lumpectomy. Outpatient, home the same day, and far more manageable than my imagination had built it up to be.
• Radiation. Several weeks, Monday through Friday. The fatigue creeps up on you around week 3 or 4, and it does a number on your schedule.
• Ringing the bell. One of the proudest moments of my entire life.

If you missed it, I first shared my diagnosis here on the blog in Why I’m Telling You to Get Your Mammogram: My Own DCIS Story. The episode goes deeper into the day-to-day of it all.

How to Show Up for Someone Going Through Treatment

This part is for you if it’s your mother, sister, friend, coworker, or boo who’s in it right now. Here’s what actually helped me.

1. Don’t ask, “Is there anything I can do?”
Most of us will say no out of pure reflex, even when the honest answer is yes. Do something specific instead: drop off a meal, or text, “I’m picking up your prescription. What pharmacy?”

2. Sit in the waiting room
If they’ll let you, go to an appointment just to sit with them, so they’re not alone with their thoughts.

3. Don’t disappear after surgery
People show up big in the beginning, with flowers, casseroles, and check-in texts. Then it tapers off right when treatment starts grinding you down. Put a reminder on your calendar to check in again three weeks later. That’s usually when we need you most.

The Excuses I Hear (and Used to Make)

Q: “I don’t have time.”
A: It’s one appointment. You’ve spent more time waiting on a table at brunch.

Q: “It’s uncomfortable.”
A: Yes, for about 30 seconds. Compare that to surgery and radiation, and tell me which one you’d rather deal with.

Q: “I feel fine, so I’m probably fine.”
A: I felt fine too. Feeling fine and being fine are not always the same thing. A mammogram is how you find out instead of just hoping.

Q: “I’ll schedule it next month.”
A: We know what next month turns into. Eventually is not a plan.

Q: “A colonoscopy? Really?”
A: Really. The prep is no party, but the procedure itself happens while you’re sedated, and it was the best nap I’d had in years. A colonoscopy can find and remove precancerous polyps before they turn into something dangerous. That’s not just early detection. That’s prevention.

Your Homework (Yes, Today)

Step 1: Book your mammogram
If you’re behind, call to schedule it today. Not next week, not when things calm down.

Step 2: Book your colonoscopy if you’re 45 or older
If you’ve never had one or you’re overdue, that call goes on today’s list too.

Step 3: Share this episode
Send it to your sister, your best friend, your mom, or the coworker you know is way overdue. You might be the reason they finally make that call.

I’m sharing my own experience, not medical advice. Talk with your doctor about which screenings are right for you and when.

Listen, Subscribe, and Pass It On

I didn’t share this story for sympathy. I shared it because one mammogram completely changed the trajectory of my year in the best possible way, and I want your next appointment to give you total peace of mind.

Listen to the full episode above, subscribe to Dishing with the DE Divah, and tune in every Wednesday for more real talk for the 55+ community.