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In late 2016, I was eating organic food, working out regularly and had never missed a mammogram. Yet, I still ended up with a breast cancer diagnosis at age 50.

I felt a lump in my right breast one day and knew it wasn¡¯t normal. So, I went to my primary care physician. She ordered a diagnostic mammogram, and a biopsy to confirm it. Then she referred me to a local oncologist.

Originally, I¡¯m from Chicago, but I¡¯ve lived in eight different cities since then. So, while I¡¯d probably heard MD Anderson¡¯s name in passing, I was completely unaware that it was the nation¡¯s top-ranked hospital for cancer care. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t even think of it when I was diagnosed on Dec. 27, even though I live just down the street.

Today, I am so glad that I landed there. Because I am fairly picky, and everyone on my team at MD Anderson was amazing. I don¡¯t believe in flukes, so I attribute my guidance there to the hand of God.

Quick self-referral process swayed me

One of the things that astonished me most was how responsive everyone at MD Anderson was.

I learned that I had breast cancer at 3:30 on a Tuesday afternoon. I couldn¡¯t eat or sleep that night, so I went online to do some research. Then, somebody in a cancer forum wrote, ¡°You know, you live in Houston, so you might want to check out MD Anderson. It¡¯s considered the best in the world.¡±&²Ô²ú²õ±è;

I went to the website and filled out MD Anderson¡¯s online form in middle of night. And to my surprise, someone called me early the next morning. She said, ¡°We got your application, but I have just a few more questions.¡± After I answered them, we hung up. A few hours later, she called me again. She said, ¡°OK, we have a team mobilized, and an opening on Jan. 2. Can you be here?¡±

My breast cancer treatment

The rest, as they say, is history. At MD Anderson, a team of doctors including recommended a mastectomy, followed by six months of chemotherapy. A tissue expander would be installed during the surgery and replaced with a permanent implant later on. The only good thing about my cancer was it had not spread to any lymph nodes, so Dr. Welela Tereffe said I wouldn¡¯t need radiation therapy.

I had the mastectomy on Feb. 7, 2017, and my last dose of chemotherapy on Aug. 31, 2017. That was only days after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Houston, and a lot of places in the city still had high water issues. I was one of the first patients let back into the hospital for treatment afterward. My permanent implant was installed on Nov. 2, 2017.

A cheerleader for breast self-awareness

I¡¯ve been cancer-free now since Feb. 7, 2017. So my holiday season this past year was amazingly great compared to how it was three years earlier.

But the only reason I even knew I had cancer was because I noticed a change in my breast. Cancer doesn¡¯t run in my family, and mine was fast-growing and aggressive. It was already sizable by the time I found it. That¡¯s why I encourage other women to be on the lookout for changes, too. Cancer can show up even between your annual mammograms, so it¡¯s important to know your breasts.

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