Mary's Story from the Oregon Clinic
As a nurse with over 28 years of experience caring for patients, Mary, 55, always tries to practice what she preaches about getting regular screenings and checkups. During her annual mammogram a few years ago, Mary’s scan showed something worrisome. After a biopsy, the results came back: Mary had malignant pre-cancer cells in her breast.
Mary met with a surgeon with experience in breast cancer surgery to discuss her options. “I did a deep dive into all the treatment options and medications,” Mary says. “After a lot of thought, I made the decision that taking the suggested medication could potentially cause more problems to my body over time. It really came down to me being more fearful about being debilitated than dying from cancer.” Mary instead chose to have a preventive double mastectomy with breast reconstruction surgery.
