'One of the lucky ones'
Mary Malone is pictured out in her element. The former Daily Bee reporter said early detection was key after a diagnosis of breast cancer earlier this year.
Photo courtesy MARY MALONE
Mary Malone is pictured on a past climb on Mount Rainer. A mammogram led to early detection — and successful treatment — of breast cancer.
A breast cancer diagnosis was the last thing I expected when I went in for my annual mammogram last December. Even when they called me back to get a better look at something they saw in the scans, I thought, “Oh, that’s normal — they call people back all the time for a closer look.”
Within a few days I was getting a biopsy and, shortly after, a diagnosis. While a cancer diagnosis is never good, I consider myself one of the lucky ones because the cancer was not yet invasive. I had an early form of cancer called Ductal Carcinoma in Situ, or DCIS, grade 3. I had no family history of breast cancer, so it was quite a shock at 42 years old.
If I had not gone in for my mammogram annually since I turned 40, the DCIS would not have been detected. It was not a lump like most cancers. It was a cluster of microcalcifications that I would not have been able to detect with a self-examination. For this reason, I have made it a mission to encourage women to get their annual mammograms. I am not a medical professional, but typically it is encouraged for women over 40, though I would imagine there are exceptions to that rule for some younger women if they have a family history or other medical history.
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