A television reporter who live streamed her first mammogram for her viewers ended up being diagnosed with breast cancer on camera.
Ali Meyer, a journalist with KFOR in Oklahoma City in the US, decided to undergo the health screen last October to raise awareness of breast cancer awareness month.
The 40-year-old filmed the entire procedure, which was shared on Facebook live.
But things soon took a horrifying turn after the radiologist at the Stephenson Cancer Centre found an "area of concern" on her right breast, which looked like "little spots" on the mammogram, reports news.com.au.
The radiologist conducted a second test, and Meyer then filmed herself discussing the "suspicious" results with Dr Richard Falk, who recommended she have a biopsy on her breast.
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She was eventually diagnosed with breast cancer a week later and filmed herself crying after receiving the news.
"That was really hard … so one week ago, you guys kind of joined me on a journey. I went and had my first mammogram … I had no symptoms, I had no lumps, no concerns," an emotional Meyer told viewers.
"I had a mammogram just to raise awareness about breast cancer … I was shocked beyond belief last week when my mammogram results came back irregular.
"Yesterday I received the terrible, horrible, awful news that my specimens are positive for cancer. I have breast cancer."
She went on to have an MRI "to confirm exactly what we're dealing with and get a plan of action in place".
Meyer was later diagnosed with non-invasive ductal breast cancer, which is one of the most survivable forms.
She later underwent surgery to remove her right breast and allowed her reconstruction surgery to also be filmed.
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She is now cancer free and has been sharing her entire story with KFOR viewers to help other women facing the disease.
She also wrote an emotional story shared on the KFOR website one year after her diagnosis.
"I was hoping for a routine mammogram, but that's not how it went," she wrote.
"I had no concerns; no lumps; no family history; no reason at all to think that my baseline mammogram would turn my world upside down.
"I will never forget that day. I will never forget telling my husband and my girls after they got off the bus that afternoon. Then, I decided to share my diagnosis on Facebook."
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She also revealed a blood test confirmed she did not have any of the genetic mutations for breast cancer but described being "crushed" after being told she would need her right breast removed.
"I was devastated about that recommendation. Even though surgery was my choice, it felt like forced mutilation," she wrote.
"It felt like cancer was stealing part of my body away from me."
However, she said plastic surgeon Dr Oscar Masters "put me back together beautifully" and her surgical options, recovery and outcome were "all better because my mammogram found the cancer before I even knew it was there".
She said her cancer journey had taught her to never stop having mammograms or telling other women to, and the second annual 3D screening mammogram she had recently came back all clear.
"I am thrilled and relieved to tell you my mammogram was clear, showing no signs of breast cancer," she wrote.
Meyer has been inundated with support from viewers on Facebook who thanked her for sharing her personal story and raising awareness of the disease.
