Two weeks later I returned for my post-op visit and for my first visit with my breast radiation oncologist. I began to feel uneasy about this but went home to recover as quickly as I could so that I could resume taking care of my boys. My surgeon told me she couldnвЂ™t get a clean margin on two sides of the tumor, but felt confident that the radiation would take care of the area in question. The pathologistвЂ™s results showed the tumor to be much larger than both ultrasounds: about 4.5 x 2.5 cm, not exactly small but non-invasive. So, 10 days after my laparoscopy, I had the lumpectomy. My breast surgeon suggested a lumpectomy followed by radiation, which sounded good to me. During the surgery my doctor decided that everything looked good, but that we would continue to monitor my ovaries with ultrasounds. After my diagnosis of DCIS, we decided to proceed with a laparoscopy to determine what was going on with my ovaries and possibly perform a single or double oophorectomy (removal of the ovary). In the meantime, my ob-gyn was constantly monitoring some solid masses surrounding my ovaries. I then chose a doctor and hospital to proceed with my treatment.

After multiple family discussions, I decided to get a second opinion, which confirmed the first diagnosis: nothing showed in the mammogram and only a small lump on the ultrasound. I was also told that I have very dense breasts and that a biopsy would determine the diagnosis.

вЂњMaybe a 20% chance that it could be cancer,вЂќ is what I was told. The lump was a little less than 1 cm across.

Its shape was not similar to typical cancer shapes. When I went in for my mammogram and ultrasound at St LukeвЂ™s Hospital in Houston, even the radiologist gave me a low percentage for the lump being cancerous. At that point I was not too concerned because I had no history of breast cancer on either side of my family, which included eight aunts and two grandmothers. Nevertheless, she set up and exam for a mammogram and ultrasound since I had only had one previous mammogram in between my two pregnancies and it showed clean. My doctor ordered an ultrasound on my gall bladder, kidneys and liver but everything looked clean. Most doctors wanted to diagnose the abdominal pain as irritable bowel syndrome and stress due to my proceeding divorce, but I secretly knew it was more. I had also been experiencing a tremendous amount of abdominal pains for about seven months prior to the diagnosis. My doctor performed a physical exam and was guessing at the time that it was just a swollen lymph node since it was so close to my armpit. I discovered a lump as I was showering a week and half before getting ready for work. I did, however, have to fly the next day and worked in a state of complete numbness. Thankfully, I had the sense to move away from my thoughts and took the weekend to absorb and embrace the diagnosis.

So, like most people, I called my family and hit the computer. All I could think of was, вЂњWhat about my young children?вЂќ They were too young to be left behind. As I watched my children play, the tears and fears hit me. My first thought after I was told that I had ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS, early stages of breast cancer), was sheer panic. It was a beautiful spring day when I received that phone call from my ob-gynвЂ™s office on a Friday afternoon as we were all outside playing. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in the spring of 2007, a newly divorced 44-year-old mom of two young boys, Massimo, age 4, and Luca, nearing age 3. I am Tina Farinola Savino and I am a seven-year breast cancer survivor, mother and a flight attendant.

Tina mom of two