Case Number 1

I encountered the first case in 1968. The patient was a 38 year old RN, a mother of six, whose mother had died at a young age of breast cancer. This patient was determined to detect any early signs of breast mass or abnormality. She was taking birth control pills for symptomatic endometriosis and her gynocologist recommended a hysterectomy since the birth control pills were not controlling the endometriosis sufficiently. She took her birth control pills until the day before her hysterectomy. About 7 to 10 days after the surgery, she noticed a firmness in each breast. The right breast was about 40% involved and the left breast was about 10% involved. Biopsy and subsequent surgery revealed bilateral breast carcinoma with axillary metastases. Breast exam by the patient and the gynecologist was normal prior the the surgery. This can only be explained by the hormones "masking" the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.