Phelicia La'Bounty says she was 29 years old when she discovered a lump in her breast. She requested a mammogram, but was given an ultrasound and told her cyst was benign. A few months later, she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.
A former model is battling breast cancer after she says she discovered a lump but was refused a mammogram because she was too young.
“They came back and said, ‘You're too young to have breast cancer and you have no prior family history, so we are not going to be doing a mammogram,’” Phelicia La’Bounty told Inside Edition.
La'Bounty says she was 29 years old when she felt a lump in her breast. So she went to a health clinic, but instead of receiving a mammogram like she requested, she says she was given a simple ultrasound scan and was told her cyst was benign.
A few months later, the lump was larger, so she returned to the clinic in southern California. This time, she was given an emergency mammogram.
“It had spread to both my lungs, my sternum and and a lymph node in my armpit from my left breast,” La’Bounty said.
She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.
“I was so fearful that this was the end of my life. It had spread so much and they didn't catch it when I asked them too,” La’Bounty said.
She began chemo with new doctors and started documenting her scary journey on social media.
“I have to take chemo everyday for 21 days on with a 14-day break, for the rest of my life. I will never be able to carry a child. Cancer has robbed me from all that,” La’Bounty said.
By going public with her story, she hopes she can prevent other women from suffering the same fate.
“I would never want to see somebody else in my position, but had I seen somebody else, I would have fought harder. I would have paid cash for a mammogram. I didn’t know you could pay cash for one of those tests,” La’Bounty said.
La’Bounty's scan from two weeks ago showed she is now cancer-free.
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