Diagnosis Archives - Jennifer A Douglas https://jenniferadouglas.com/tag/diagnosis/ Author and DCIS Patient Advocate Wed, 03 Dec 2025 18:30:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://jenniferadouglas.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/cropped-JAD-Submark-2022-ltpink-32x32.png Diagnosis Archives - Jennifer A Douglas https://jenniferadouglas.com/tag/diagnosis/ 32 32 173738246 DCIS Toolkit: Your Newly Diagnosed Resource Hub https://jenniferadouglas.com/dcis-toolkit/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/dcis-toolkit/#respond Thu, 23 Oct 2025 22:40:48 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=5995 Feeling overwhelmed after a DCIS diagnosis? This comprehensive toolkit is your guide to navigating treatment decisions, building a support system, and managing recovery with clarity and confidence. Explore practical tools, personal insights, and resources to help you take your next steps with strength and support.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/dcis-toolkit/feed/ 0 5995 Managing Home Life During Breast Cancer: The Mental Load Doesn’t Pause for a Diagnosis https://jenniferadouglas.com/managing-home-life-during-breast-cancer/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/managing-home-life-during-breast-cancer/#respond Fri, 25 Jul 2025 02:23:50 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=5887 Breast cancer doesn’t press pause on the laundry, dinner, or school drop-offs. If you’re overwhelmed by the mental load of managing home life during treatment, this post offers honest reflections and simple ways to share the load—without guilt.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/managing-home-life-during-breast-cancer/feed/ 0 5887 Introducing Encourage: Breast Cancer and Beyond https://jenniferadouglas.com/introducing-encourage-breast-cancer-and-beyond/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/introducing-encourage-breast-cancer-and-beyond/#respond Thu, 17 Jul 2025 14:00:00 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=5877 When I was newly diagnosed, I longed for a space that could guide me through each step—with clear information, real support, and a place to ask the hard questions. That vision became Encourage—a survivor-led membership designed to support you from the moment of diagnosis through treatment and beyond. In this post, I’m sharing how it came to life and how it can support you today.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/introducing-encourage-breast-cancer-and-beyond/feed/ 0 5877 Getting Organized During Breast Cancer: Keeping Track of the Details https://jenniferadouglas.com/getting-organized-during-breast-cancer/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/getting-organized-during-breast-cancer/#respond Mon, 03 Jun 2024 14:43:05 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=5382 How can we keep track of all the details during our breast cancer treatment? In this sponsored post with Healthgrades, I share my organizational tips with you.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/getting-organized-during-breast-cancer/feed/ 0 5382 How I Found the Right Breast Cancer Doctors For Me https://jenniferadouglas.com/how-i-found-the-right-breast-cancer-doctors-for-me/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/how-i-found-the-right-breast-cancer-doctors-for-me/#respond Fri, 29 Mar 2024 15:51:38 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=5159 It took time to find the right breast cancer doctors for me, but that time was well worth it! Read about my journey to finding my breast surgeon in this sponsored post with Healthgrades.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/how-i-found-the-right-breast-cancer-doctors-for-me/feed/ 0 5159 Newly Diagnosed: How to Go From Overwhelmed to Organized https://jenniferadouglas.com/newly-diagnosed-workbook/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/newly-diagnosed-workbook/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2024 02:28:10 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=5121 Being newly diagnosed with cancer can feel overwhelming. To move beyond feeling overwhelmed, we need to get organized.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/newly-diagnosed-workbook/feed/ 0 5121 There’s a Cancer Dictionary? Well, That’s Useful! https://jenniferadouglas.com/cancer-dictionary/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/cancer-dictionary/#comments Fri, 16 Feb 2024 18:44:05 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=5082 Have you ever opened up a pathology or imaging report and wondered what one of the words meant? We really need a dictionary!

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/cancer-dictionary/feed/ 2 5082 2023: My Four-year Cancerversary. 4 Things I’ve Learned https://jenniferadouglas.com/four-year-cancerversary/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/four-year-cancerversary/#respond Wed, 27 Sep 2023 00:01:38 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=4980 Four years have passed since I heard, “You have breast cancer.” In honor of my cancerversary this year, I decided to share four things I’ve learned about cancer since my diagnosis.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/four-year-cancerversary/feed/ 0 4980 Biopsies and Anxiety: Acknowledging and Accepting Our Emotions https://jenniferadouglas.com/biopsies-and-anxiety/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/biopsies-and-anxiety/#comments Fri, 11 Aug 2023 00:14:15 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=4842 Breast biopsies can be an anxiety-provoking procedure for us. If thinking about a biopsy makes you feel anxious, you’re not alone.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/biopsies-and-anxiety/feed/ 2 4842 Podcast Appearance- “Get it Off Your Chest: The Funny Side of Breast Cancer” https://jenniferadouglas.com/podcast-appearance-get-it-off-your-chest-the-funny-side-of-breast-cancer/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/podcast-appearance-get-it-off-your-chest-the-funny-side-of-breast-cancer/#respond Fri, 23 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=4717 Listen to my podcast appearance on "Get it Off Your Chest: The Funny Side of Breast Cancer," and learn about my new nickname!

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/podcast-appearance-get-it-off-your-chest-the-funny-side-of-breast-cancer/feed/ 0 4717 HealthGrades Post: Breast Cancer- A Life Pivot I Wasn’t Expecting  https://jenniferadouglas.com/breast-cancer-life-pivot/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/breast-cancer-life-pivot/#respond Mon, 08 Aug 2022 15:10:16 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=3413 I sat in the exam room with a flimsy paper gown on, swinging my legs in nervous anticipation. Today was the day I would get my results. After an abnormal mammogram, more imaging, and then a biopsy, the wait was over. Did I have cancer? #sponsored

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/breast-cancer-life-pivot/feed/ 0 3413 From An Inconclusive Biopsy to a Lumpectomy https://jenniferadouglas.com/inconclusive-biopsy-to-a-lumpectomy/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/inconclusive-biopsy-to-a-lumpectomy/#respond Fri, 15 Jul 2022 21:54:51 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=3389 After an inconclusive biopsy result, it was time to meet with my surgeon to discuss the pending lumpectomy. Surgery is soon!

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/inconclusive-biopsy-to-a-lumpectomy/feed/ 0 3389 An Inconclusive Biopsy: More In-Between Ahead https://jenniferadouglas.com/an-inconclusive-biopsy/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/an-inconclusive-biopsy/#comments Fri, 08 Jul 2022 16:59:18 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=3381 I’ve had many biopsies over the years.  They have all been able to definitively tell whether the finding is cancer or not.  I was expecting that same clarity after this latest biopsy. I was completely unprepared to hear that the results were inconclusive. 

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/an-inconclusive-biopsy/feed/ 1 3381 Another Biopsy: Not On My List of 2022 Summer Fun! https://jenniferadouglas.com/another-biopsy-not-on-my-list-of-summer-fun/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/another-biopsy-not-on-my-list-of-summer-fun/#comments Thu, 30 Jun 2022 21:00:00 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=3359 A biopsy wasn’t on my list of summer fun. And yet, here I am, three years after my first abnormal mammogram, facing another biopsy. I’m not excited. 

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/another-biopsy-not-on-my-list-of-summer-fun/feed/ 2 3359 Breast Imaging Focus: What Is A Diagnostic Mammogram? https://jenniferadouglas.com/what-is-a-diagnostic-mammogram/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/what-is-a-diagnostic-mammogram/#respond Fri, 11 Feb 2022 17:59:02 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=3132 Diagnostic mammograms offer more detailed pictures to the radiologists of findings in our breasts. When might one be ordered for us? What is the experience like?

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/what-is-a-diagnostic-mammogram/feed/ 0 3132 Decision-Making During Breast Cancer Treatment: Solving A Puzzle I Never Wanted To Do https://jenniferadouglas.com/decision-making-during-breast-cancer-treatment/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/decision-making-during-breast-cancer-treatment/#respond Thu, 27 Jan 2022 19:55:10 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=3069 Decision-making was so difficult, especially at the beginning. I was just learning about the language of breast cancer, and I needed to make treatment choices without feeling like I had all the answers. There was a weight to the choices. What if I made the wrong one?

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/decision-making-during-breast-cancer-treatment/feed/ 0 3069 A Cancer Diagnosis is Shocking- It is Okay to Have Strong Feelings https://jenniferadouglas.com/cancer-diagnosis-is-shocking/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/cancer-diagnosis-is-shocking/#comments Tue, 14 Sep 2021 15:07:50 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=2789 A cancer diagnosis of any stage or type is shocking. In one split second, we go from getting some routine scans to being a cancer patient. Strong feelings come with the territory.  

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/cancer-diagnosis-is-shocking/feed/ 1 2789 Persisting Towards a Diagnosis: From Carpal Tunnel to a Herniated Disc https://jenniferadouglas.com/persisting-towards-a-diagnosis-from-carpal-tunnel-to-a-herniated-disc/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/persisting-towards-a-diagnosis-from-carpal-tunnel-to-a-herniated-disc/#respond Thu, 09 Sep 2021 18:22:37 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=2782 Adventures in Self-Advocacy-- The real reason my fingers were numb was a herniated disc in my spine, not carpal tunnel.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/persisting-towards-a-diagnosis-from-carpal-tunnel-to-a-herniated-disc/feed/ 0 2782 Patient Experience Workbook: Record, Reflect, Remember Important Details https://jenniferadouglas.com/patient-experience-workbook/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/patient-experience-workbook/#respond Thu, 27 May 2021 00:49:59 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=2629 I am excited to launch my patient experience workbook. This will help you record, reflect, and remember important things from your medical appointments.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/patient-experience-workbook/feed/ 0 2629 Genetic Testing During My DCIS Decision-Making Process https://jenniferadouglas.com/genetic-testing/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/genetic-testing/#respond Tue, 18 May 2021 23:30:53 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=2610 Genetic testing was a key part of my DCIS decision-making process. Did I have a genetic variation that put me at a higher risk for more cancer?

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/genetic-testing/feed/ 0 2610 Delays during Cancer Treatment- A Framework to Move Forward https://jenniferadouglas.com/delays-during-cancer-treatment-a-framework-to-move-forward/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/delays-during-cancer-treatment-a-framework-to-move-forward/#respond Fri, 07 May 2021 22:10:06 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=2602 Delays during cancer treatment can be anxiety-producing. I had a few delays that impacted the timeline of my treatment and added to my stress.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/delays-during-cancer-treatment-a-framework-to-move-forward/feed/ 0 2602 Diagnosed with DCIS- What Are The Treatment Options? https://jenniferadouglas.com/diagnosed-with-dcis-treatment-options/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/diagnosed-with-dcis-treatment-options/#comments Tue, 27 Apr 2021 11:00:00 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=2591 When I was diagnosed with DCIS- Stage 0 breast cancer, I was faced with many decisions. What were my treatment options? Since I had never faced a diagnosis like this before, I needed to do a lot of learning before making these decisions.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/diagnosed-with-dcis-treatment-options/feed/ 2 2591 What is DCIS: Stage 0 Breast Cancer https://jenniferadouglas.com/what-is-dcis/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/what-is-dcis/#comments Tue, 20 Apr 2021 11:00:00 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=2577 DCIS- Ductal Carcinoma in Situ is Stage 0 breast cancer. It is the earliest stage that breast cancer can be detected.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/what-is-dcis/feed/ 6 2577 How I Used GoodNotes and my Bullet Journal During Breast Cancer Treatment https://jenniferadouglas.com/goodnotes-and-breast-cancer/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/goodnotes-and-breast-cancer/#respond Fri, 16 Apr 2021 11:00:00 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=2569 I used the GoodNotes app to keep track of a lot of information during my breast cancer treatment. I used it as my bullet journal and my information hub.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/goodnotes-and-breast-cancer/feed/ 0 2569 Ten Tools I Used To Walk Through Cancer Anxiety https://jenniferadouglas.com/ten-tools-for-cancer-anxiety/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/ten-tools-for-cancer-anxiety/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2021 11:00:00 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=2472 Cancer anxiety can come up during all parts of our diagnosis and treatment journey. Here are ten tools that helped me walk through the anxiety.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/ten-tools-for-cancer-anxiety/feed/ 4 2472 Scanxiety Over My One-Year Imaging https://jenniferadouglas.com/scanxiety-over-my-one-year-imaging/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/scanxiety-over-my-one-year-imaging/#respond Tue, 15 Dec 2020 12:00:00 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=1916 I experienced my share of scanxiety as I approached my one-year imaging this December. Scanxiety is a term used in the cancer community to describe the feelings we are experiencing as we face the imaging associated with diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up.  

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/scanxiety-over-my-one-year-imaging/feed/ 0 1916 Surgery Choices: Why I Decided to Have a Lumpectomy https://jenniferadouglas.com/surgery-choices-why-i-decided-to-have-a-lumpectomy/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/surgery-choices-why-i-decided-to-have-a-lumpectomy/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2020 12:00:00 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=1824 I decided to have a lumpectomy last fall after my DCIS diagnosis. Here are the 5 reasons I decided to choose this surgery.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/surgery-choices-why-i-decided-to-have-a-lumpectomy/feed/ 3 1824 Breast MRIs : What are they like? https://jenniferadouglas.com/breast-mris-what-are-they-like/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/breast-mris-what-are-they-like/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2020 12:00:00 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=1760 After my initial Breast Cancer diagnosis, my surgeon ordered a breast MRI for me. It was quite an involved imaging test, and there were a few things about the process that surprised me. If you are facing a breast MRI, I hope that this post can help you prepare better for this procedure.

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/breast-mris-what-are-they-like/feed/ 5 1760 All About Core Needle Breast Biopsies https://jenniferadouglas.com/all-about-core-needle-breast-biopsies/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/all-about-core-needle-breast-biopsies/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2020 12:00:00 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=1683 Core Needle Breast Biopsies are a tool that doctors use to determine if you have breast cancer. What is it like to get a core needle biopsy?

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/all-about-core-needle-breast-biopsies/feed/ 10 1683 Breast Biopsy: Preparation and Recovery https://jenniferadouglas.com/breast-biopsy-preparation-and-recovery/ https://jenniferadouglas.com/breast-biopsy-preparation-and-recovery/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2020 11:00:00 +0000 https://jenniferadouglas.com/?p=1664 Your surgeon has ordered a breast biopsy for you after reviewing your imaging reports. Now what? How can you prepare for a breast biopsy?

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]]> https://jenniferadouglas.com/breast-biopsy-preparation-and-recovery/feed/ 4 1664