December 13th, 2019, my wife, Nikki Alonso, went to her OBGYN with a concern regarding a pea-sized lump in the top of her right breast. She was 32 years old at that time. Her doctor advised the lump was in her chest, not her breast, and was likely from working out. She requested a mammogram for piece of mind because cancer runs in her family, however, she was still refused a mammogram. She was told the lump was unlikely cancerous due to her age and they could proceed with screening at 35 or 40. Her mother had just battled and beat breast cancer the year prior. 

Feeling defeated and ignored, she sought a second option in attempt to obtain a test. She met with her family doctor who provided her with a referral to Vanderbilt with the hopes of obtaining a mammogram and a genetics test for cancer. She went with her father and sat through the 80 minutes screening process. She answered all of the family history medical questions and advised her grandfather, father, and mother all had battles with the disease. They didn’t qualify her as a candidate to obtain a mammogram or genetic test. Her father even offered to pay for them out of pocket.

At this point she felt even more let down and ignored so she lost hope anyone in the medical field would take her concern seriously. Several months went by and out of no where the lump felt like it grew from the size of a pea to that of a large marble. Eight months after she initially felt the original lump. She went back to her OBGYN in August of 2020 and saw a nurse practitioner. After an exam, the nurse immediately issued her a mammogram, pelvic exam, and ultrasound. The tests came back abnormal and a biopsy followed. The biopsy came back positive for breast cancer. She completed a MRI and CT scan to further determine the nature of cancer. As of September 18th, she was diagnosed with HER2 triple positive invasive ductile carcinoma. 

My wife’s battle has just begun, nine months later than it should have. Chemotherapy is already part of the plan of action. By touch, the mass tripled if not quad tripled in size. There’s so many what if’s going through her mind right now. She feels as though she didn’t fight for herself enough when she was repeatedly told no to testing. Why would a woman need to advocate to have a mammogram done, especially with the family history, when there is a physical lump present? My wife doesn’t want to only fight this disease, but also fight and advocate for other women out there who are turned down mammogram screenings. No female should be refused a mammogram due to age. If a female feels a foreign object from a self exam, which they are taught to conduct at an early age and on, why can’t they schedule a mammogram without the approval of a doctor? No female should endure the feeling of helplessness and be forced to fight for their medical rights. Early detection is essential with the battle of breast cancer. Cancer does not care how old you are! I hope this petition sparks a change in how these proceedings are conducted in the future.