Our first post...

As I sat on my desk after a long day at work, I brought my hands to my face and took a long deep breath. “Don’t mix your life with work”, the great advice I once received but haven't been able to master was the thought running through my mind. Dealing with breast cancer on a daily basis may seem as an ordinary job, but for me, it is a constant reminder of how fragile life can be, changing its course unexpectedly, catching you off guard.

Some would  say “what would you know? You are healthy as can be” but let me tell you, it's not always easy to be on the other side. I’m a radiologist, a breast imager. The doctor who interprets your mammogram. It was a calling, like life was just easily pushing me into becoming what I am today. Maybe it was because I found breast cancer to be a very interesting disease. Maybe it was because I enjoyed the amount of detail and attention in finding the tiny little cancers in the mammograms. Or maybe it is because deep in my heart I just felt I owed the world that my mom is still in this world because a breast imager once found the cancer in her. It’s probably a combination of these reasons, plus the fact that I can see through the patients and through my own mother the benefits of early detection and treatment.  

It is striking the amount of information one can get nowadays, from credible and not so credible sources, about mammograms and breast cancer in general. I can’t imagine how confusing it can be for anyone who’s not in the medical field. When to start getting mammograms? Should I really get a mammogram? I read on Facebook that mammograms were harmful… What if I have implants? Can I prevent breast cancer? I have breast cancer! I don’t know what to do! It is complex and even the medical data is always evolving, so how can everyone keep updated?

There would never be a right or wrong answer. I am a supporter of investigation and making autonomous decisions. That’s the only way one would be in peace with what has been decided. You want to be able to decide with full knowledge and with no regrets, knowing that you did your homework and acted on your best interest. That is why I want to be able to share with you the information I have from my medical background to help you answer some of your questions, as a physician and as I friend. The goal is that you feel empowered when making your breast health decisions, from prevention, to diagnosis, to treatment.

When my friend, Heather, called me to look at her mammogram images I wanted to think: How can someone so young, with a healthy lifestyle, having her first mammogram could have breast cancer? But unfortunately, I see it everyday. Young, healthy women, even some who wouldn’t need a mammogram according to the guidelines end up with breast cancer. It is so common, that 1 in 8 of women in the US will deal with the disease during their lifetime. Heather diligently got her mammogram at age 40 and this sole decision, that seems so simple, saved her life. Her journey through this experience has been inspiring and not only highlights her resilience but also her determination to help others that may one day be at the same place.

This determination, this purpose, is something that we both share. And that is how this idea started. We want to share our experiences with breast disease from a medical and from a personal standpoint. Personally, I want to open the doors of my dark reading room to you, so that you can also understand what breast imagers do and why we do it.

I want you to know we are all in this together. As a doctor, as a woman, as a friend, as a family member we are in this together.

Most importantly, I want you to know we are all in this together. As a doctor, as a woman, as a friend, as a family member we are in this together. Breast cancer is the most common cancer that affects women. It also affects men. We need to be prepared in case we find it to live through it, with it and beyond it.

Dr. Claudia Cotes is a Radiologist specialized  in Breast Imaging at The Rose, a non-profit organization that provides breast imaging and diagnostic services for underserved women in Houston.