Nichele: Breast Mass Found at Age 20

Nichele had routine blood work-up performed and the results showed that her D-dimer was elevated. Her physician ordered a CT scan to rule out any blood clots. No clots were found so she was sent home. Fast-forward 12 months when she requested a copy of the CT scan to add to her medical records. It was noted on the films that Nichele had a mass located in her left breast that needed ultrasound follow-up. She was never told about the mass or to follow-up and she hadn’t read her report. That night she began a self-exam and found the lump right away.

The next few weeks were filled with appointments, biopsies and eventually a lumpectomy. The mass was noted as suspicious although the biopsy results did not report a cancerous mass.   Nichele encourages young women to become educated about breast cancer early-detection methods that will save lives, and says, “Young women really do need to know the importance of regular monthly breast self-exams!”