Too young for cancer? This mom’s instincts beat the odds

Watch Too young for cancer? This mom’s instincts beat the odds - Straight Arrow News on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00She was told over and over again she was too young for breast cancer.

00:04But with a family history, Mikayla Delbarrio was persistent.

00:07Growing up, I knew it was always something that I wanted to mention

00:12whenever I had a new provider, and I always brought it up.

00:18So after the birth of her second child, Delbarrio brought it up again to her doctor.

00:23After she was referred to a high-risk doctor at the age of 35,

00:27she underwent an augmented MRI.

00:29A tool used specifically for high-risk patients.

00:32Her suspicions were accurate.

00:34The mother of two had cancer.

00:36I was completely shocked.

00:37I couldn't believe that.

00:41I think I felt I was doing all the things,

00:44being very proactive about my health,

00:47always making sure to mention my family history,

00:50doing the risk assessment.

00:52I felt all these things I was doing in good measure,

00:55but not actually expecting to receive a diagnosis of breast cancer.

00:59I always advise patients that they should always be aware of their family history,

01:03and there is a breast cancer risk assessment tool

01:06that is utilized in a lot of the high-risk breast cancer clinics.

01:10Dr. Annabelle Verpanini is Delbarrio's doctor.

01:13She says her patient did everything right.

01:15What I think is really important for people to understand is that

01:18if you have a concern, make sure that you advocate for yourself

01:21and you follow up on those concerns,

01:23and then there's always an opportunity to seek medical attention.

01:29Delbarrio underwent a bilateral mastectomy

01:31and chemotherapy at Northwestern Medicine.

01:33Doctors say her prognosis is good.

01:36For Delbarrio, she feels sharing her story could save another woman's life.

01:39I think what is so important about sharing my story

01:43is because there aren't a lot of women that look like me in the waiting room,

01:48and the fact is one in eight women will receive a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.

01:57Because at the end of the day, Delbarrio knows she has a lot to live for.

02:00I think I'm just so glad that I took a lot of initiative

02:05to get my risk assessment, to figure these things out,

02:10to have additional screenings,

02:11because if I had waited until I was 40, I don't even know what would have happened.

02:15Straight Arrow News has provided breast cancer self-check tools

02:19on our website and mobile app.

02:21For Straight Arrow News, I'm Jack Henry.