My name is Betsy. My husband was in the Navy for 30 years, so my cancer experience spans three states. In 2013, my doctor in Oregon showed me some tiny dots on my mammogram. They were calcifications that could grow as cancer. I have always been told that I have very dense breast tissue. He ordered a mammogram every 6 months for two years. At the fourth mammogram in December 2015, now in Florida, they said they couldn’t see anything.  

Two months later I could feel a large lump in my left breast. I monitored it for two months and then called the doctor. He could feel the lump, and see a change in the skin, and ordered a new mammogram and ultrasound. Both tests showed nothing, so I was told to go home and monitor it for 4-6 months. I waited 2 months, but was uncomfortable waiting any longer. I called the doctor and again he ordered a mammogram and ultrasound which, again, showed nothing at all.  

By now you could see the changes the lump was making in my breast tissue and I was starting to feel some lumpiness in my right breast as well. We agreed it was time for a biopsy. I was diagnosed in September 2016 with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) and a subsequent PET/CT scan showed a 6.6 x 6.7 x 2.4 centimeter mass. I had chemotherapy, a bilateral mastectomy, and radiation. There were isolated tumor cells in my right lymph nodes, indicating cancer in my right breast as well. They were unable to get clear margins in surgery, so my stage was upgraded to IIIB. I took Tamoxifen for almost two years and have been taking Anastrozole for seven years. We moved to Virginia and found new doctors. I was already vegetarian-leaning, but switched to a fully plant-based diet. I walk every morning and lean heavily into my faith. 

I only recently discovered LBCA and I’m so glad that I did. I wish that I had known more about ILC and could have better advocated for myself to get treatment sooner. I’m grateful for the work that LBCA is doing to inform and support patients with ILC and to advance ILC-specific research.

Are you interested in sharing your own lobular breast cancer story? Please email communications@lobularbreastcancer.org to request information about how to submit your story.