TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) —"I didn't feel anything. I didn't feel bad. It was just a prescreening. So, that's what started it all." The news came as a surprise.
"Nobody in my family that I was aware of had it and then I don't have any of the markers for the genetics of breast cancer." Carlie Korinek says she got a referral from her OBGYN for a mammogram.
"Which, I didn't take seriously. I just kind of said, oh I'll just do that later and then when I went to schedule my next exam that was with the paperwork. I was like, I better get that done. she's going to get upset with me. If I don't do it. So, I got it scheduled," said Korinek.
When she went in, she was asked to go back for a biopsy. "And then another biopsy and then another biopsy. I thought 40 was early," said Korinek.
Her diagnosis came the summer of 2019. " I had two types of cancer in my left breast. So, the diagnosis for the one type of cancer was going to be a mastectomy," said Korinek.
Big life-changing decisions were up ahead. "You have to decide at that time, do you want to do just the one side that has cancer or do you want to go ahead and do both for preventative measures or for symmetry," said Korinek.
"Ultimately, we decided that I would do a double mastectomy and then we would do immediate preparations for reconstruction," said Korinek. And by the end of 2019, she could say she was cancer free.
"December of 2019 we got the all-clear. So, then you're kind of in a 5 year. Just watch, I guess for your next cancer," said Korinek. "The cancers that follow breast cancer are going to be bone, liver, and kidney. So, those are what we're on the watch for right now," added Korinek.
As she looks back on her journey, she wants to make sure others know this. "Take it seriously, make the appointment, that's probably the biggest thing I would say," said Korinek.
