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In Part Two of Touch of Life: A Guide to Breast Self-Examination, ABC 7 News shares more critical, need-to-know information that could potentially save your life.
"This is something that happened to me but I'm going to happen back to it," she said. "I almost feel sorry for the cancer."
Nita Lalla makes you believe it. The 32-year-old government worker from Arlington was diligent about her health. She ate well, exercised -- even ran marathons! And she religiously performed self breast exams.
"I felt it and then it became a little marble and it just kept growing," she recalled. "My gut said, 'Ya know, something's just not right.'"
In June, Lalla was diagnosed with an aggressive stage 2B breast cancer, stunning her and her family and friends.
One friend felt strongly enough about sharing the importance of self breast exams, she agreed to do one on camera, with guidance from Ami Bhavsar with the Inova Breast Care Institute.
"Raise your arm up like this and take your hand and examine the breast," Bhavsar instructed. "There are three different ways you can do a self breast examination and one method I'm going to show you now is called the circle method. You want to use the three fingers and use the pads of your fingers. So by placing your finger toward--near your nipple, and working your way around the nipple to outside of the breast. And you want to feel deep for any nodule or any firm -- it would almost feel like a marble size lump. You want to keep working your way out of the breast. And you want to do under the breast and then you don't want to forget about underneath of your arm as well."
Doctor Roger Friedman, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Rockville, says a lot of women don't know how to do the exams -- but they need to learn, and do them once a month.
"Several days after your menstrual period, the swelling is gone, your breasts are less tender, it's an easy time to do a breast exam," he said.
Dr. Friedman adds some women don't know what to look for. His advice: do the exams often and then pay attention when something feels different.
"The majority of these lumps are normal," Dr. Friedman said, "but, on occasion, you're going to find a breast cancer and if you're doing it on a self-exam basis, you're going to probably pick it up sooner and when it's smaller and therefore, better treatable."
Nita Lalla did and feels stronger because of it.
"It empowers me," she said. "I feel totally in charge of my treatment plan. I feel totally in charge of my health."
So whether you're standing in front of a mirror, in the shower, or lying down, being aware of the look and consistency of your breasts is key.
Early detection may have saved Nita Lalla's life.
"I knew it wasn't going to be the end for me," she said
And despite chemotherapy, Lalla still has the strength to run a 5K. Her last treatment is November 11.
One high-profile breast cancer patient in the Washington area, who has been reluctant to discuss her treatment in public, is now choosing to speak out now, in support of our "Touch of Life" self-exam reports.
Tanya Snyder, wife of Redskins (web | news) owner Daniel Snyder, is the NFL's spokesperson for breast cancer awareness. She is also a survivor. Earlier this year she found a lump during a self-exam.
"It felt like a quarter with a small nickel on top," Tanya recalled.
That was just two months after she'd had a mammogram. Her husband confirmed her suspicions.
"I was concerned and I went to my husband and I said, you know, 'Do you feel the same thing I feel?' and he was like, 'Yea, that's very -- that's, that's weird. You know, I've never felt that before.'"
Then she had it checked out.
"I didn't want to hear the answer that I heard! I mean, I was, you know, I was by myself and it wasn't the answer I was expecting to hear and I just wanted to check it off, done, no problem and that wasn't the case," Snyder said.
Snyder prefers to keep details of her treatment private, but she is a vocal supporter of self breast exams.
"Early detection will make all the difference in the world!" she said. "Women tend to care of everybody and in order to do that, you have to be able to be here and you have to take care of yourself first!"
Snyder's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago. After Snyder's own diagnosis, she got tested for the breast cancer gene. She doesn't have it.
"There was always a joke in my family that I was always so small that -- don't ever worry about it---you could never have breast cancer, which is a myth by the way!" she explained.
All this month, NFL players and coaches sported pink to help spread awareness about the deadly disease. The Redskins had a mammogram van outside FedEx Field earlier this month. Snyder continues doing her part, encouraging women not only to look for abnormalities in their breasts, but to then do something about it if they find something.
"We do need to put ourselves on the calendar, continue with the self-exams first," she said. "Women have great intuitions and that gut instinct is something you need to listen to."
Men are also at risk for breast cancer, albeit at a much lower rate. The CDC (web | news) reports 1,764 men were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, the most recent year for which data was available, and 375 men died from it.
Medical experts say men should conduct a breast exam the very same way women do, remembering to feel the lymph node area in the armpit, and covering the breast area in a circular motion. That advice also goes for women with implants.
ABC 7 News is offering additional help, by hosting a live Web chat at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, with renowned surgeon Dr. Roger Friedman, whose patient list includes Tanya Snyder. Go to wjla.com and a link will appear on the homepage. You can submit questions in advance by e-mailing them to mevans@wjla.com.
ABC 7 has also gathered a list of helpful Web sites, CLICK HERE.
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