Testing in Nalie's case was slow to start for several reasons. Once tested, however, follow-up was considered urgent and happened fast.
Transcript
And so she felt it and she’s like, “Don’t worry it’s probably just a cyst,” so I didn’t even worry at all either but she gave me a referral paper just in case.
And so when she gave me the referral paper I didn’t really do anything with it because she told me not to worry and when you’re in your 20s it’s not a priority to go book, at that point I thought a mammogram. I let months pass and finally I took the referral paper after a second shot where my doctor had to give it to me again because I had lost it. That’s how much I really didn’t even care about it.
She asked me, “Oh did you ever go get the exam?” and I said “No”. So I said, “I lost it,” so she gave me a new one and finally I was calling for a mammogram and all the hospitals asked me my date of birth and as soon as I said 1988 they were like, “Oh no sorry we don’t give mammograms to women under the age of 40.” So again I was like that means it must be nothing. I mean I’m in my 20s, I’ve got nothing to worry about if they don’t even give mammograms to women under the age of 40. So again I let months pass and then I had to go see my doctor again and when she asked me, “Did you get the test done Nalie?” and I said, “No they were refusing me.” She said, “Well how were they refusing you?” I said, “No one gives mammograms to women under 40.” She said “You’re supposed to ask for an ultrasound,” so I was so naïve about it I didn’t know, I didn’t know anything about breast cancer and how it worked. So finally that’s the only time that I actually mentioned it to my mom and I didn’t want to mention it to my mom because mothers usually panic and get stressed and get worried. So this is probably a year later, almost 10-11 months after finding the initial bumps on my breast that I told someone about it aside from my family doctor.
And then my mom made sure I got that ultrasound done ASAP and so she even inquired with my sister-in-law who’s a nurse and she referred me to a clinic where I would have to pay to get an ultrasound right away instead of waiting the 3 months at the hospital.
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