{"id":27266,"date":"2021-07-16T22:32:39","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T22:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cmshub.wpengine.com\/?p=349535"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:14:34","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:14:34","slug":"doctors-said-egg-sized-tumor-was-benign-a-year-later-shes-fighting-stage-3-breast-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/doctors-said-egg-sized-tumor-was-benign-a-year-later-shes-fighting-stage-3-breast-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctors Said Egg-Sized Tumor Was Benign. A Year Later, She\u2019s Fighting Stage 3 Breast Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/p>\n

Nobody ever likes to find a suspicious lump in their breast. But for Valerie Buchanan<\/a>, the truly difficult part of finding a lump the size of a bottle cap in her left breast was the terrible timing. She first felt it in March of 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was sweeping across North America and lockdowns were becoming widespread.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 27-year-old Canadian didn\u2019t immediately think it must be cancer. All the same, she tried her best to get into contact with a medical health professional who could see her in person. She had no luck, even with her family doctor, whose voicemail was not correctly set up at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

The healthcare professionals that Valerie was able to contact via phone predicted that the lump was simply a benign cyst or a fibroadenoma, which is a non-cancerous form of tumor. Because of the lockdowns, they told her not to come in for an in-person examination.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Photo: Facebook\/Valerie Buchanan<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n

Article continues below<\/span><\/p>\n

Our Featured Programs<\/span><\/h5>\n

See how we\u2019re making a difference for People, Pets, and the Planet and how you can get involved!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThey would tell me, \u2018I really wouldn\u2019t worry about cancer \u2014 you\u2019re too young,’\u201d Valerie recalls<\/a>. \u201cI wanted to believe it was just a cyst; I really didn\u2019t want it to be cancer. I\u2019m not going to argue with a doctor. I knew something was wrong, but I didn\u2019t feel like it was enough for me to go on a crusade against all the medical professionals who said don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Valerie was instructed to use hot and cold compresses on the area, alternating between them every 15 minutes. But the lump didn\u2019t go away.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I should have been more aggressive and asked to still be checked, but I\u2019m not one to question what the appropriate course of action is. I\u2019m not a doctor,\u201d says Valerie<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Photo: Facebook\/Valerie Buchanan<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By summertime, her lump had grown to the size of an egg and was now causing a shooting pain in her breast. Following a move from Ottawa back home to Montreal, Quebec, she finally managed to see a doctor in person, but this doctor also thought it was a benign cyst or fibroadenoma and did not order any further tests or treatment for it, instead reassuring her that she was too young for cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like I had to go through all these circles and jump through obstacles just to see someone, depending on if the first person thinks it\u2019s valid enough or deems my symptoms worthy enough,\u201d Valerie recalls<\/a>. \u201cI should have just been able to get a referral with no problem. They were very quick to brush me off because of my age. It was always a problem before, but the pandemic made it worse.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Valerie continued to call any clinic or imaging center she could find in the hopes of getting a mammogram. Most places told her she was too young for one, she needed a referral, or they weren\u2019t accepting new patients. Many never returned her calls.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Photo: Facebook\/Valerie Buchanan<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAt one point I was just Googling clinics and aimlessly calling any number I could find online, one by one,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

By February, Valerie\u2019s lump was the size of an avocado<\/a>, and she\u2019d begun to develop new symptoms too. She returned to the clinic she\u2019d originally been seen at and was referred for an ultrasound but had to wait more than three months to get it.<\/span><\/p>\n

When her arm went numb in April while she was waiting for her appointment, she finally decided something must be done right away. She finally got ahold of a clinic that would take her, and she paid over $2,000 to get an ultrasound, a mammogram, and a biopsy.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Photo: Facebook\/Valerie Buchanan<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her test results showed that she had stage 3C triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive type of breast cancer that can be very difficult to treat. Aside from the tumor in her left breast, there was also a tumor in a lymph node in her armpit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a couple days I was angry,\u201d says Valerie<\/a>. \u201cI felt numb, too, but I was ready to do whatever I had to do. My life is more important to me than my chest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Valerie underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, and five weeks of radiation therapy. \u201cMy treatment is more aggressive now because I was diagnosed later,\u201d she says. \u201cIt stripped me of my options.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Photo: Facebook\/Valerie Buchanan<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Luckily, Valerie is responding well to treatment. After three rounds of chemotherapy, the tumor in her lymph node is gone. The tumor in her breast has also shrunk by about 20 percent<\/a>. In the midst of it all, she\u2019s made peace with the whole experience and decided to focus on just getting well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Valerie has opted to share her story so that other young women will know to advocate for themselves when they feel something is wrong, no matter what the doctors say. The Canadian government is working on pushing the standard age at which women start getting breast cancer screening from 40 to 45, and Valerie hopes her story will convince people that this isn\u2019t the right decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t work backwards!\u201d she says. \u201cHopefully this will aid as a step in the right direction.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you to Valerie for sharing her story and to Robin Della Corte of the Montreal Gazette for her original piece.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Provide Mammograms<\/h5>\n

Support those fighting Breast Cancer at The Breast Cancer Site<\/span> for free! \u2192<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n