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Brenda’s Story: How MRI Helped Identify My Breast Cancer and Save My Life

Hello, my name is Brenda Sweeney. I am 51 years old and a proud mother to four children, ranging in age from 16 to 32. I love my job as an Educational Assistant working with students who have mental health needs in an elementary school day treatment program that is affiliated with the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

I first saw a doctor about changes in my left breast in January 2008. At that time, it had a different texture from my right breast. My doctor and I determined that it was likely due to me still lactating 8 months after weaning my last son. I was 37 years old and at that point in time, due to my age, had never had a breast screening. I was also grieving the sudden loss of my mother and the stresses of having an active household with two teenagers, a preschooler and a toddler.

Fast forward to August 2, 2008. While at a weekend family reunion, my left breast became enlarged and extremely painful. When I returned from the family reunion on August 4, I went to the emergency department to have it looked at. They recommended I start antibiotics in case of an infection and referred me to the Women's Breast Health Centre at the Ottawa Hospital. I had an appointment with them the next day.

During the examination, I had a mammogram and ultrasound. They determined that my breast was still enflamed and was so dense that it looked like a roll of plastic food wrap. They asked me if the antibiotics were giving any improvement, which they were slightly. However, they believed it may be inflammatory breast cancer or inflammatory mastitis.

Over the next few weeks, I had multiple mammograms and ultrasounds both of the breast and lymph nodes. Nothing was conclusive as to what was going on with my breast. I was finally sent for a breast MRI on August 27, 2008.

By the time I went for the MRI I was feeling frustrated, discouraged and scared. My breast was still irregular in size and texture. The technologist was really good at trying to make me feel relaxed. They explained the process of the purpose of adding in the contrast as they were hooking me up to an IV. Then we went into the room to be positioned in the MRI. I found the position very uncomfortable. Having to lie face down with a narrow pad supporting my forehead. My breasts cupped into the holes, my arms above my head. The room was cold, but the technologists put an extra blanket over me. They also provided me with a hair net to hold my hair off my face and headphones to reduce the sound of the Machine.

The MRI seemed very long. About 40 minutes in that position not moving was difficult. I tried to keep my mind off of what the purpose of being there was and unsuccessfully tried to connect the "whoop whoop" sounds of the machine to music. The technologists were fantastic with checking in on me asking me if I was alright, notifying me when the next test will start and when the contrast will be administered. When it was all over, and I came out of the machine, my forehead was numb. Being in the face down position for that long left me feeling off balance and it took me a few minutes to feel like I could stand up. The technologists were patient with me and gave me all the time I needed.

The results of the MRI concluded that my whole breast lit up with the contrast and they wanted to investigate further in certain areas. The recommendation was to have a biopsy of certain areas of my breast. I had the biopsy done September 4, 2008, during which they took 4 specimens of my breast with a needle.

I had a follow-up appointment at the Women’s Breast Health Clinic on September 11, 2008 where I was given the diagnosis of extensive high grade ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Given my age and presentation, I was very atypical in determining this diagnosis. The initial mammograms and ultrasounds were not giving the doctors the information that supported this. It was the MRI that directed them to a biopsy. The next line of treatment for me was a full mastectomy of my left breast which was booked for September 23, 2008. The pathology report from the mastectomy confirmed extensive high grade DCIS which had also started to become invasive with a 0.5 cm tumour.

From the time I recognized inflammation in my left breast to my diagnosis and surgery was relatively quick. Given my age of 37 years old, I had no baseline tests for the technologist to refer back to. I was fortunate that from the beginning of my inflammation to my MRI was three weeks. If the MRI wasn't able to have been offered, I don't know how much longer I would have gone without treatment and possibly having the cancer become more invasive than 0.5 cm and also possibly affecting my lymph nodes.

At the beginning of this hiccup in my life, I did not know what tests could have been offered and put my trust in the specialists at The Women's Breast Health Centre. As I moved through the process of having breast cancer and its treatments, I educated myself with the overwhelming amount of information, I asked many questions and advocated for the lines of treatment I was comfortable with.

I am now 13.5 years post cancer diagnosis. Part of my annual care is to continue to have an MRI because of how atypically I presented and how dense my right breast still is. So far so Good!

I hope that my experience empowers women to advocate for their breast health. That if they are not getting the answers that they need that having an MRI, though uncomfortable, is an extremely effective tool to determine abnormalities that are not detected with other screening. I encourage women to not be afraid to advocate for an MRI as part of their care.

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