TULSA, Okla. — Kendra Houser, a Tulsa mother, said she found out she had breast cancer while breastfeeding her second child.
Health officials at Ascension St. John told 2 News women typically find out they have breast cancer through mammograms and checking for lumps.
“Had I not been nursing at the time I probably would have ignored it and just been like I don’t know what’s going on but it's whatever until it was too late," Houser said.
In 2012, Houser a then mother of two, now a mother of four, was enjoying life when she noticed her 6-month-old baby preferred one of her breasts over the other.
“That’s common when your breastfeeding and you develop breast cancer, the baby does prefer the other side,” she said.
However, she didn't know that at the time.
All she knew was the breast he wouldn’t take to became red, painful and swollen.
Initially, she and her doctor thought she developed mastitis, which is an infection from nursing. After multiple tests, a biopsy and visiting a few different doctors, Houser learned she had breast cancer.
“It was soul-crushing honestly. I’m sitting there thinking I’m 25, I have two little babies, what is going to happen?” Houser said.
She says she caught her cancer in stage 2B during chemo it progressed to stage 3A. With a positive mindset and strong support system, she went through about a year's worth of treatment between chemo and a mastectomy.
Now with four kids, she’s a breast cancer survivor and it's been 10 years since she was first diagnosed.
She says the first three years after having breast cancer she was on close watch.
“Now I feel like I’m done with that journey, and I can finally focus on our future watching my kids grow up which at one point I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do and so now I am enjoying all that,” Houser said.
As someone who was diagnosed at such a young age, Houser urges young women to be vigilant, don't dismiss concerns and check for lumps.
"I actually have a friend who found out she had the same exact type of breast cancer I had a year or two after I got diagnosed but she ignored it and she was in stage four before she finally got diagnosed and she didn’t make it,” Houser said.
During October, more medical providers like Ascension Saint John are keeping their doors open longer to provide more opportunities for women to get a mammogram.
Visit the National Breast Cancer Awareness site to learn more about preventing breast cancer.
Trending Stories:
- Little boy found walking along 61st and Peoria
- DOWNLOAD the 2 News Oklahoma app for alerts
- Green Country pair named America's Longest Married Couple
- FOLLOW 2 News Oklahoma on Facebook
- The Judds tour to stop in Tulsa
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
