@Vallerina Nor me. Tumour wasn't palpable to anyone. A routine mammogram found it. However the mammogram failed to see two Grade 3 areas of DCIS, one 4cm long, due to the density of my breasts, something no one ever spoke to me about.
Thinking back to my pre-BC self, I think the issue is broadly, the population is under the impression that a mammogram sees all. They don't know that it's an imperfect tool. They don't know that ILC is not often seen on a mammogram, that breast density masks so much.
The message should be 1) know your breasts through regular self-examination 2) know the warning signs as per the lemons 3) have regular mammograms from 45 4) know your breast density and be given ultrasounds and 3D mammograms accordingly.
Tertiary education places should have posters displayed conveying all this information. And that young women get breast cancer. It is not an older person's disease. It's the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia. The ignorance in the general population is scary.
