The opinion was overwhelming. I was too young for breast cancer. I heard it time and time again before my diagnosis and while it was mildly comforting to know that women in their early 30s -- like me -- rarely develop breast cancer, a sensation deep in my gut told me I was headed for something that defied statistics.

Two years ago -- on November 18 and 19 -- the clues concerning the lump in my breast were stacking up. At the time, the odds were in my favor -- despite the sinking feeling that sat in the pit of my stomach.

November 2004

I went to my OB/GYN on November 18. My doctor felt the lump but was confident it was nothing to worry about. It moved around easily, there was no discharge from my nipple, I did not feel any pain -- all signs that it was benign. But it's routine to get a mammogram for any mass so I got one the next day.

I was the youngest person waiting to get my mammogram, another sign that this lump was nothing serious because it is not common for young women to have breast cancer. Mammograms are not even recommended for women under the age of 40. I am 34. The mammogram films looked okay and the technician told me the doctor would talk to me but that she was not worried about anything. This was true but she did an ultrasound anyway to look further at the lump.

She determined it was not a cyst, which is fairly common, and nothing serious. It could be a fibroma (a common growth that can be removed or left in place without harm) or it could be cancer. She said she wanted me to have the lump removed. She wanted it out and "in a jar," she said. I asked her if it could be cancer and she said it could be.