Kate Nejman, in Her Own Words

My name is Kate Nejman and I am 41 years old. My cancer journey began 4 years ago at a routine physical where I notified my doctor of a suspicious lump I had found in my right breast. She was hesitant to send me for a mammogram because I was only 37 years old, but due to a history of breast cancer in my family, she complied with my request for the test.

It was my first mammogram, so I did not know what to expect. The technician was kind and talked to me through the whole procedure. When it was finished, I was sent out to wait for my results. I started to notice that women who came in after me were leaving before me and that’s when I started to get nervous.

After what felt like an eternity, a technician came out and told me I needed to go back in for an ultrasound. It was at that moment I just knew something was wrong and that this wasn’t normal.

After the ultrasound I was sent across the hall to a breast surgeon’s office to schedule a biopsy. I wasn’t scared of having the procedure done but I was terrified of what the result might be. Somewhere in the back of my mind I just knew what they were going to tell me.

A week later, when I went back for the results of the biopsy my fear was confirmed. It was stage two invasive, ductal carcinoma.

All I heard was “cancer” and at that moment my world changed.