Diagnosed with Stage IV Breast Cancer in my 30s

“Being diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer was devastating. After all, I was healthy and only in my mid-thirties.”

– Mandy upon finding a lump in her breast

I’m Too Young to Have Breast Cancer

Mandy was healthy and young, just in her mid-thirties the day she found the lump. While she didn’t even think about the possibility of breast cancer, she decided to go ahead and schedule an appointment with her doctor anyway.

Finding Another Lump

And then, just before she made the appointment, she found another lump. She immediately went in for scans and a biopsy.

“Everything happened so fast. It had only been 24 hours since I’d gone in for my scans and a biopsy that I learned the impossible — or what I thought was the impossible — I had breast cancer.”

– Mandy’s shock of her diagnosis

Diagnosed with Stage IV Breast Cancer

Mandy was even more terrified when her doctor suspected she had stage IV cancer, however, he wouldn’t know for sure until after surgery. This meant Mandy had some serious decisions to make, and quickly.

“I thought it was a death sentence. I remember thinking, ‘I have to get my affairs in order’.”

– Mandy’s upon learning she had stage IV metastatic breast cancer

With the possibility of having stage IV cancer, Mandy decided the best option for her was to have a double mastectomy. She’s certainly glad she did because after surgery, her doctor told her that she did indeed have stage IV metastatic breast cancer.

The Importance of Self Screening and Mammograms

This is just another woman’s example of the importance of self screening and making an appointment with your doctor as soon as you find a lump or suspect something is not right.

Today, Mandy reports that she is feeling great and is healthy. She attributes that to her decisions to take action and receive care as quickly as possible.