I was just sent a link to a blog in the NY Times entitled “When Breast Biopsies Aren’t Necessary.” The blog states that waiting 6 months for a follow up after a “probably” benign lesion is a safe option. It goes on to say that of the 45,000 women that were followed only 1 in 100 were eventually diagnosed with cancer 6 to 12 months later. According to my math, that’s 450 women that had cancer and delayed diagnosis risking the spread of deadly cancer cells. While I’m not a doctor, I think I can reasonably comment on this. I was one of those women told to come back in 6 months. While my mammogram didn’t show anything, my ultrasound showed a “probably” benign something. Thankfully, I didn’t wait. Both my doctor and I decided any lump in your breast is one that shouldn’t be there so we scheduled surgery and you know the rest. I’ve later heard over and over again that a palpable lump needs a biopsy, and I will continue to spread this message. We have to be advocates of our own health. We cannot let people tell us to wait 6 months because we are all at risk for being the one cancer case that goes undiagnosed. If we are that “1”, the statistics mean absolutely nothing. Breast cancer is treatable and curable but the earlier it’s caught the better. We have to be aggressive with diagnosing and equally aggressive with treatment. I intend to live for a very long time, and I am thankful that my cancer was diagnosed before it was too late.