"I'm sorry, but." are three words you almost never want to hear from your doctor. Hundreds of thousands of women have heard those words over the past four years. I was one of them.

Perhaps your mother, your sister, or your neighbor was one. "I'm sorry, but", is usually followed by one of the most dreaded words in the entire English language - cancer.

My affliction was breast cancer, as it is for big-hearted friend of mine who is facing each day with courage, humor and hope. This article is for her and for all of you.

I am a physician, a mom, and an owner of a small business - too busy for doctor visits and mammograms. I had my first mammogram at age 35 and my second one, purely by chance, when I was 43. I was speaking on women's cardiovascular health during the 2001 Southern Women's Show, and the Director of Mobile Health Outreach, insisted that their van and exhibit stay open until I relented and had mine done. That was a chance encounter which may have helped save my life. The mammogram showed calcifications. Multiple biopsies were performed and the pathologist indicated that there was no problem. He was wrong.

My friends, if there is an indication of a problem on your mammogram - or any test that indicates a serious problem - get a second opinion - from a different laboratory.

If you read my previous article "There's Got To Be A Better Way", you will understand my lamentations and frustrations on what medicine and health care, in general, has become. Don't let "the system" hurt you. In the volume of tests and visual readings, you've just become one of thousands. Have another test. Get another reading. Have a physician you can trust and who will be your advocate. Get someone who truly cares. Don't face this alone.

I didn't have any lumps, I had atypical ductal hyperplasia. These micro calcifications were growing abnormally and had turned into cancerous tissue. My physician presented my case to a group of colleagues at a cancer conference where they review medical files and discuss the best course of treatment. It was only because of the intervention of my doctor that my cancer was detected.

I had a ticking time bomb in my chest. I heard those terrible words, "I'm sorry, but". I was in the middle of a busy clinic day and had ten more patients to see. I just told myself that I didn't have time to cry right then, that it would have to wait until the drive home.

My treatment consisted of a five hour mastectomy of the left breast, a sentinel node biopsy, and a TRAM-flap breast reconstruction. The sentinel node biopsy removes fewer lymph nodes to determine whether the cancer has spread and whether chemotherapy and/or radiation should be undertaken. A low dose trace element is injected to isolate two or three lymph nodes where the cancer is most likely to have spread. These lymph nodes are subsequently removed and analyzed. If these are negative, no more lymph nodes are removed. I was fortunate and caught this disease at an early stage. There was no detectable lymph node penetration and my chance of reoccurrence was estimated to be 15%. I chose not to undergo chemotherapy for a possible 5% gain.

My breast was reconstructed with skin tissue removed from my lower abdomen. The TRAM-flap procedure was possible because radiation treatment, which damages the skin, was determined not to be necessary or advantageous in my case.

Get educated about the disease and the courses of treatments available. The people at the American Cancer Society and the Breast Cancer Society were wonderful. Obtain references and recommendations from friends and family. Ask your physician for other women whom you can talk to. You'll be amazed at the support at work, in your faith community, from your true friends, and your family.

Kristi, you are in my thoughts daily and I pray that each and every day gets better. I am thankful that your husband is with you every step of the way, and your friends stop by with hugs and sometimes with home cooked dishes. I admire your strength, courage and quiet determination. Within you, hope is more than a four letter word.