I had no symptoms. A routine mammogram found it.

I felt healthy. I had no lump, no pain and no warning signs, and no one in my family had ever had breast cancer. I went for my routine mammogram the way I would any other appointment on my calendar, expecting to be in and out.

Within days, I was called back for more testing. An ultrasound and diagnostic mammogram led to a biopsy that same week. The radiologist thought it was most likely benign, and honestly, so did I. I was healthy, with no symptoms and no family history of any disease, let alone cancer.

The following week, on my birthday, my doctor’s office asked me to come in that same day. John and I went expecting they just wanted to monitor something. Instead, I heard the words “you have breast cancer.” It felt like an out-of-body experience. I never imagined hearing that at 46.

I met my surgeon at BC Cancer in Vancouver the next week, and within three weeks of my diagnosis I had surgery, followed by treatment. Because that routine mammogram caught it early, and because of the incredible doctors and staff who cared for me, I am cancer free and stronger than ever.