In November 2016, Rogelia Armendariz fell while she was cleaning and later felt a lump in her left breast. She thought it was caused by the fall. When her doctor checked it in March, she was referred for a biopsy and learned she had stage IV breast cancer.
New Year’s Eve, 2018, didn’t go as Zonia DeLao would have planned. Earlier in the month, she had a regularly scheduled mammogram at El Franco Lee Health Center. Her primary care physician sent her to Smith Clinic for further tests, which included stereotactic and MRI biopsies. Physicians found three lumps, two of them were cancerous.
In mid-2018, Shelia Doyle went to an emergency room because she felt a lump in her right breast. She was told it was a cyst and was sent home. That scene was repeated before she saw her OB who sent her for a mammogram and ultrasound where the imaging doctor matter-of-factly said, “You have cancer. Do you have any questions?”
When Liliana Estupinan accompanied her mom to a doctor’s visit, she saw a promotion for a screening blood test. She jumped at the offer and soon learned something was wrong. The doctor ordered a pap smear and a breast ultrasound, then a diagnostic mammogram. A biopsy confirmed stage III breast cancer.
Mavis Fletcher was leaving for vacation in July 2018 when she first felt a lump in her breast. Since she was at low risk for cancer, she waited until she returned home to have it checked. Misdiagnosed once, she could tell it was growing, and she was beginning to feel some pain.
A self-exam in early 2018 revealed a lump in Graciela Gonzalez’ right breast. She was visiting Mexico at the time and had a mammogram there. When she returned to Houston, she had a second mammogram and received a diagnosis of stage I breast cancer.