NBC News’ Kristen Dahlgren found her breast cancer after reporting on rare symptoms

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In early October, Mathew Knowles shared that he had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Part of the reason that he shared his story was because he wants to encourage men to talk to their doctors about the possibility of being diagnosed with a cancer typically associated with women. He wants to break down the stigma surrounding breast cancer in men. Another celebrity sharing her breast cancer diagnosis is NBC correspondent Kristen Dahlgren, who recently recognized an unusual symptom of breast cancer because she’d reported on it:

In 2016, NBC News correspondent Kristen Dahlgren reported on unusual signs of breast cancer that aren’t widely known. Three years later, she spotted one of them in herself, and learned that she has stage 2 breast cancer.

While the majority of women identify their breast cancer based on a lump, Dahlgren was reporting on a new study that found that other signs — nipple changes, dents, dimples, pain or redness — could also be indicators of breast cancer. . . .

But as she got dressed one day in September, Dahlgren noticed that she had a “slight dent” in her right breast — one of the unusual signs from her 2016 story.

“Beneath the dent, I didn’t feel a lump, but something I might describe as a ‘thickening,’ ” she explained. “It just felt different than everywhere else.”

[From People]

Kristen explained that she didn’t have a family history of breast cancer and had gone for a mammogram a few months earlier that came back with no signs of cancer, so her diagnosis was not something that she was prepared for. She is currently getting chemotherapy treatments and has surgeries scheduled. Kristen said that she has “a long road ahead” of her and that cancer is “definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever been through. It’s scary. It’s really scary.” Happily, she also said that she and her doctors are optimistic.

I’m so glad for Kristen that, thanks to her own research and reporting, she was able to recognize that she might have cancer. That awareness allowed her to get her diagnosis quicker than she otherwise would have. She’d had her last mammogram in April, so might not have found out for another 7 months at least! I’m happy that she’s optimistic, and I hope that her treatment goes well and that she’s soon cancer-free.

Note by CB: Here’s Kristen telling her story. Her stepson went through leukemia and she said she would much rather she have cancer than have it happen to one of her kids. Kristen said she has a long road ahead, that she’s still in chemotherapy and that she’s tired but has so much support from friends and family.

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18 Responses to “NBC News’ Kristen Dahlgren found her breast cancer after reporting on rare symptoms”

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  1. Lightpurple says:

    Know your body. Notice changes and report them to your medical providers immediately.

  2. Kcat says:

    Why the hell can’t mammograms be replaced with automatic ultrasounds? 3/4 women I know with breast cancer found the cancer on their own after clean mammograms. We need a better diagnostic tool. I went to my first one and they saw something sketchy, so sent me for an ultrasound. It was fine. But why not go to that step right away?

    • detritus says:

      And we know ultrasounds are less painful and more effective. So why are we still doing mammograms? What’s the politics behind it?

      I know more women who found their own cancer than those that had it found in mammograms.

      • Angela82 says:

        I also know a woman who found her own breast cancer last year. She was only 40 and had stage 3 that had spread to her lymph nodes. Thankfully she was lucky and they got it before it had spread to other organs. She had chemo, surgery, then radiation, She is now in remission thank goodness. I hate to think had she waited for a mammogram she might not be here today. 🙁

      • JDAY says:

        Because the machines are expensive and either already paid for or still being paid for.

        That’s literally it.

    • Spicecake38 says:

      I wrote about my experience below.Mammogram and ultrasound indicated no cancer only calcified areas,thankfully the radiologist recommended biopsy,just to be safe-it was cancer (as I posted below I had unusual symptoms).The radiologist,on the day of my mastectomies came in to see me ,shook his head and said it was still a hard call .
      We need improvement in our diagnostic tools,I was fortunate to have doctors who listened to me.

  3. Esmom says:

    Wow, she is not the first person I’ve heard about who discovered breast cancer not long after a clear mammogram. Wishing her and all others fighting scary health battles well.

  4. Jess says:

    My stepmom had inflammatory breast cancer, which is horrifically invasive and deadly. That was on top of a lump of “regular” breast cancer that had been found. Her first doctor wanted to do a mastectomy to get rid of the lump he had found. Luckily she got a second opinion from a specialist who saw the rash on her breast (rashes or any changes in your breast skin cancer can be a sign of IBC) and knee what it was. She was started in intense chemo the next day. If she hadn’t gone to the specialist she’d be dead because the mastectomy probably would have spread the IBC and delayed her chemo treatments long enough that the IBC would have spread to other organs and killed her. And, by the way, when she went back to tell the first doctor about the rash he had missed and IBC, he refused to acknowledge that it was real. So he’s a freakin small town butcher who’s probably killed other women. Bottom line – go to specialists if you’re able and don’t dismiss any changes to your breasts, including bumps and rashes.

    • JennyJenny says:

      Thank goodness your step mom got a second opinion!
      Nearly the same thing happened to me, as I have inflammatory breast cancer as well. The first doctor missed all the signs and wanted to do an immediate mastectomy.

      The second surgeon I saw picked up on the orange peel dimpling on my skin. That wonderful, wonderful woman saved my life.

      IBC is a bitch ~

  5. LaUnicaAngelina says:

    Oh my goodness and I’m glad she knew something was wrong. I’m hoping all the best for her. Also, this post was educational for me because I forgot about the uncommon/unusual symptoms to watch for.

  6. Rosie says:

    Sounds like invasive lobular breast cancer. (ILC). It’s what I was diagnosed with. I have (had) very dense breasts, and you can hardly see anything in mammograms with dense breasts, so you need to be more vigilant. I had had 5 “clear” mammograms until the 6th when I asked for 3D and they saw something off. No lump, I felt nothing, my obgyn had felt nothing and oncologist said it had been growing 3-6 years. ILC does that. It lacks a protein that makes the cells clump together so it grows like a spider web- so those other less common symptoms are important to watch for: thickening, dimpling etc. ILC is less common (10-15% of breast cancer cases), but breast cancer is so common if you pulled it out of the BC category it would rank 6th in new cancer cases in women. So it’s not that “rare”. Another eye opening statistic about breast cancer: in 80% of cases, women have no family history. So check yourselves, don’t skip those mammograms and ask for 3D. The life you save may be your own.

    • FHMom says:

      How come I’ve never heard of this? I consider myself fairly knowledgeable on the subject of breast cancer because of family history, but this is news to me. It’s scary that a mammogram couldn’t pick it up.

    • Trillion says:

      THANK YOU ROSIE!

  7. Spicecake38 says:

    I had symptoms that I ignored for a year and a half.One day I felt a stinging pain in my left nipple.It was like you feel when you get a paper cut or that sharp quick sting when you cut your leg shaving.I looked at the calendar and saw my cycle was about to start,took ibuprofen and tried to forget about it,chalking it up to PMS,and the pain did resolve after starting my period.Weird,whatever.No close family history never had a mammogram.(I was young-ish)I did a self check and no lumps,dents,discharge,nothing.This pattern persisted for a year and a half,until two years ago the day after Christmas I awoke to my t shirt matted to my breast with blood.I cried,I prayed,I told my husband and daughter I had to go to the doctor immediately-we did,he scheduled a mammogram and ultrasound for the next day,where they found nothing-just some calcification,and two weeks later had a biopsy and then found out it was DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ-the *best*kind to have.Of course I was worried but optimistic,as was my surgeon.After electing a double mastectomy (no cancer at all in the right)biopsy showed after surgery that I was cancer free (so grateful)but the nipple pain was due to a very rare cancer called Pagets-the cancer begins in the ducts and travels through to the nipple where you eventually get bloody discharge,thickness,and my nipple was enlarging and changing shape,but not until after diagnosis-it took THAT long to see physical signs.My PCP when first saw me said I should not worry it was probably a staff infection,but of course he still sent me for diagnostics.
    I was a nurse,I have wonderful health care providers and insurance and I still waited because I didn’t think it could happen to me,and traditional symptoms were not there.Please sisters,know your bodies and don’t hesitate.I am lucky beyond compare that I waited and was still easily treated.Genetic tests also showed that I don’t have BRACA,but another new gene called ATM,it’s rare but now it’s being looked at with greater significance.This path has been hard but was life saving,I was lucky someone else may not be don’t wait and don’t take no for an answer if you aren’t satisfied.❤️

    • FHMom says:

      I’m glad you are cancer free. My mom had DCIS 21 years ago. She’s fine, also.

    • Hoot says:

      @spicecake38 – Thank you (and others, above) for posting your details so in-depth. It is not easy to re-live, you are brave – and you may be saving a life by sharing your experience. The more we know…

      I am glad for your successful outcome. Blessings and happy holidays to you and your family.