Good day! My name is Kortney Price, and I am a 43-year-old female living in South FL. I was diagnosed with DCIS Breast Cancer in Sept 2025. I want to first thank you for taking a moment to listen to my journey of breast cancer.

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What started out as a routine annual women’s wellness checkup in June of 2025 soon became one of the largest and most life-changing events I could ever fathom. During that visit, a lump was found in my right breast. As such, my doctor sent me for a mammogram and ultrasound. During those procedures, the technician saw that my right breast was extra calcified, stated it was an area of concern, and they did additional imaging on it. Based on that, I went forward and did a biopsy. It was scheduled a few weeks after that at WIIN Health. But on the week of the biopsy, I received a call from WIIN where I was scheduled to get the biopsy. They stated they wanted to do another mammogram due to an additional area of concern. Therefore, I went in 2 days prior to the scheduled biopsy to administer a second mammogram. Once the mammogram was completed, I went in, as scheduled, for the biopsy on August 28th. It definitely was painful and nothing comfortable about it. Afterwards, it was a waiting game. Questions running through my mind. What is it? Am I positive? What do I do? What is the next step? Etc. etc. The doctor did warn me ahead of time regarding the painful nature of the procedure.

I finally received a call from WIIN Health in September of 2025, stating they wanted to see me in their office the following day to go over my test results. It was at that moment where I knew something was wrong. I had a gut feeling. My instincts kicked in. The following morning, I awoke as usual, got ready, and went to the clinic with the outlook that I may be receiving bad news and I needed to be strong. Upon my arrival, I sat there for a good hour waiting for my appointment. Once in the back, they brought me into the doctor's office.

In September of 2025, I was diagnosed with DCIS Breast Cancer. It is a stage 0 and is known to be something very early in the process, but it is still a cause for concern. The area of disease, in my case, was 8.8 cm by 6 cm (which is a large portion of tissue). In order to remove DCIS, under normal circumstances, a lumpectomy would be performed due to the diseased area being so small. However, in my case, it was very large and a mastectomy was the only option. I was discouraged and disappointed that this would be the only option to solve my health situation, but if that is what needs to be done, then so be it. The problem was that I could not get another biopsy appointment through Baptist Health until October 31st. During the waiting period, I received a call from Baptist stating my diagnosis had been downgraded to ADH (Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia). This is one step lower than DCIS and is not considered cancerous. The treatment for ADH would also be a lumpectomy. However, again, the diseased area is too large and I would have to do a mastectomy. So, I patiently waited until the 31st for my second set of biopsies of two additional areas in my right breast. During those three weeks, I decided to make another appointment with the University of Miami to obtain a second opinion. During a visual inspection of films and reports, the doctor with UM came to the same conclusion that it was ADH. However, they wanted to send off the samples and reports to their own pathology experts to review all documentation to grasp the situation better and obtain a better understanding of the case file. Therefore, I agreed. I received pathology results back from UM in October of 2025, saying the disease was DCIS. That then changed the opinion of all doctors involved since there was a second opinion. Due to this finding, the tables had turned and a double mastectomy was now fully on the table. Due to the amount of calcifications in my right breast, it would be impossible to complete a lumpectomy without getting deformed. Therefore, after speaking with my surgeon and considering all options available, I opted for a bilateral mastectomy.

Unfortunately, and fortunately, the bilateral mastectomy was scheduled for mid-November (unbeknownst to me). I found out while on a work conference 5 days prior to the scheduled date. This did not give me much time to prepare. But, I still went through with it. I arrived at Westside Regional Hospital in Plantation, Florida at 8:00 AM with bells, whistles, and a whole lot of anxiety. The check-in was scheduled for 9:00 AM. My mother drove here from New Orleans to be with me through the surgery and aftercare. I will say, the hospital was very prompt in getting me checked in and bringing me to my bed. Once that was done, is where the fun begins.

As I was standing there, my phone rings and it is from Baptist (where I have been going for all my cancer care) and the plastic surgeon's office. They proceed to inform me that my insurance coverage for the tissue expanders had not been approved yet by the insurance company and I have 2 options. I can either reschedule the whole operation together, or I can get the bilateral mastectomy and schedule the tissue expanders for another day when they get the clearance. Being that I was already in the hospital gown, already in socks, and the service had already been paid for, I opted to go with the bilateral mastectomy.

Upon waking up from anesthesia, I was greeted by my best friend and my mother both saying, “You did it. You got approved.” Mind you, I had been out cold for 6+ hours and was drugged up. I thought they were talking about winning the lottery or something. They then proceeded to tell me that my procedure for the tissue expanders was approved while I was under the knife and in the surgery room. The only problem was it had to be done on a different day.

Hence where my problem arises. I now have to pay a separate co-pay for the second operation for the insertion of my tissue expanders, which is thousands of dollars. In addition to copayments for all other office visits to fill the expanders. Then will come the final replacement surgery, hopefully within the next 6-9 months or so.

I am NOT one to ever ask for anything. But I am at the end of my rope and cannot afford to continue paying these out-of-pocket expenses and insurance co-payments. Not to mention, my insurance period will renew on January 1, 2025, and my out-of-pocket amount will reset to over $8,000 annually.

I do believe there are good people in this world, and I am thankful to those that are. My hope runs strong and I have gotten through the first hurdle. I just need some help pushing through this unexpected medical hurdle. I’ve got this!

If you read the whole thing…thank you!!!