My name is Lori, I am 64 years of age and have lived in Fairbanks Alaska for over 30 years. I am retired from teaching after 35 years and have taught all grade levels in Special Education but ended my career teaching Special Education Preschool. I was also a National Board Certified Teacher as Early Learning Specialist. I have been married for 41 years and have four grown children ages 29, 34, 36 and 38.

I was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer in 2021 through a routine yearly mammogram with an architectural distortion. I was sent for an ultrasound for further confirmation and they found jagged edges in scans in January 2022. I was sent for a biopsy in February 2022 and it was confirmed I had Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) and at that time no node involvement. But not all of my lobular breast cancer was found at first. I had a lumpectomy in March of 2022 after which they found cancer in the third sentinel node. It was right in the middle so no further nodes were taken except the 4 sentinel nodes.

I started googling and asking my surgeon and oncologist about ILC and how it was treated. I was able to also ask some close friends as they too were diagnosed with ILC. One of my friends told me about LBCA and its website. So I googled the LBCA site and learned all I could to make better decisions as I went along. The website was easy to understand and easy to get around. I only wish there was, and I could get, a specific treatment for lobular breast cancer. I feel like this is what is needed.

I have joined some research groups for monitoring my cancer treatment experiences, and I am working with an LBCA Local Advocacy Team ( LAT) to provide education and help get the word out about lobular breast cancer in person in my community. It is rewarding because I know that it may help someone else as they navigate their lobular breast cancer treatment journey and speak with their oncologist.

I would tell anyone who gets this diagnosis to research and educate yourself through reputable online sites like LBCA’s in order to be your own advocate. As things come up don’t take a brush off. Keep sharing what you learn and keep digging as more and more answers are out there.

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