‘The Bachelor’ Alum Kelsey Anderson, Who Lost Her Mom To Breast Cancer, Recalls Having Her First Lumpectomy In High School

Anderson said, “I’ve had two lumpectomies. My mom, whenever she found a lump in her armpit, had all of us feel it and know what it felt like.

“And she was always telling us that we have to do our exams, and what to look for, and where to do our self-exams. So … I think the first time I got a lumpectomy, I was in high school.”

RELATED: What You Need to Know About Lumpectomies

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She recounted her mom finding a lump in her armpit during a self exam, and immediately seeking medical advice. However, she was initially told it appeared normal and wasn’t a cause for concern.

“Then she just felt kind of like this gut feeling that she was like, ‘If it’s not supposed to be there, I don’t want it there.’ And she got it removed a couple of weeks later. They tested it and found out she had stage three and four breast cancer,” Anderson explained.

“The tumor wasn’t detectable because of the type of tumor it was and the scan that they did. If she wouldn’t have gotten it removed—she was in remission for a while, then it came back to her bones—she would have never went into remission.”

Anderson can’t help but remember her mom insisting, “If it’s not supposed to be there, get it removed”—which is why she chose to undergo her first lumpectomy in high school, despite doctors not thinking it was cancer.

Looking back on the second time she had a lumpectomy, Anderson said doctors also doubted her to have cancer. It turned out to be benign, but she still insists on getting anything abnormal removed and checked.

Anderson continued, “Anytime I feel a lump, I’m like, ‘If it’s not supposed to be there, I’m getting it out of there.’

RELATED: Getting to Know Your Breasts with Self-Exams

When Menounos asked whether Anderson had considered getting a preventative double mastectomy, Anderson shared that her mom didn’t have any genetic mutations that would have raised her risk of getting the disease.

“I told my doctor recently that I want to go get tested to see if I have the gene [BRCA gene]. But I think that if I had it, I would definitely think about it,” Anderson added.

WATCH: Understanding the BRCA Gene Mutation

“Risk-reducing mastectomies are an operation where we take women at, usually, very high-risk for getting breast cancer, for genetic mutation carriers, who are the ones at the highest risk; there’s unfortunately only one way to actually prevent breast cancer,” Dr. Elisa Port, Chief of Breast Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System, previously told SurvivorNet.

“Women who are found to test positive for a genetic mutation really have two options,” Dr. Port explains. “One is what’s called high-risk surveillance, which means we check them every six months or so, mammograms, MRIs, with the hope that if God forbid, they develop breast cancer, we pick it up early. But that’s not prevention; it’s early detection.

“Early detection is a goal; it’s not a guarantee. For the woman who wants to be more proactive about actually preventing breast cancer, or as we say, reducing her risk, unfortunately, the only way to do that is to remove the actual tissue at risk, and that is the breast tissue,” she adds.

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Anderson also admitted that she does experience a significant amount of “health anxiety” after seeing her mom’s battle with the disease.

“I remember there was a while that I didn’t want to get tested [for the BRCA gene] to see, because I was like, why would I want to know? I was like, I want to live my life and not be stressed about it,” she explained.

“But at the same time, I know that there’s so many, like, precautionary things that you can do to help yourself. So hopefully, in the next couple of months, we’ll get the testing and then see. Hopefully it’s all good, but we’ll figure it out step by step.”

As for how she’s been coping with the loss of her mom, Anderson took to social media last year to admit she’s still grieving.

She said, “Grief is crazy, guys. I still get people asking me, ‘Kelsey how’d you figure it out? How’d you deal with losing your mom?’ And I hate to break it to you, I still have not figured it out. Today I was scrolling on TikTok and I saw a video of this girl and her mom and it made me so angry. It pissed me off.

“I was just like, ‘That’s not fair.’ You know, in my mind I was like, ‘That’s not fair that she gets to do these things with her mom and I don’t.’ Which is crazy because she was just posting a wholesome video of her and her mom and it was super sweet, but in that moment, I was really angry. And looking back now, I’m like, ‘Okay, Kelsey, chill out.’ But what always brings me back down and makes me feel better again is perspective.”

@kelseyalexandraan

Love y’all, wanted to share a little of my grief journey with yall 💗 hope this can maybe help someone

♬ original sound – Kelsey Anderson

She concluded, “I know this is going to sound crazy, but in my mind a lot of times I’m just like, ‘How lucky am I?’ Like, how lucky am I that it hurts this bad still? And I’m sure it always will, but that just shows the woman that my mom was and how much of an impact she had on my life. And still does. And how much I love her.

“I had my mom for 20 years and she’s the best mom and some people never get a mom like that.”

How to Perform a Self-Breast Exam

If you notice any changes in your breasts, such as new lumps or nipple changes, ask your doctor about getting a mammogram or other screening tests. Remember that you’re the best expert on your own health and what’s normal, or not, for your body. In between regular mammogram screenings, SurvivorNet’s experts also recommend that you do regular breast self-exams.

Step 1: Begin by looking at your breasts in the mirror.

Stand with shoulders straight and arms on hips, and look for the following:

• Breasts that are their usual size, shape, and color
• Breasts that are evenly shaped without visible distortion or swelling.
• If you notice dimpling, puckering, or bulging, bring this to your doctor’s attention.
• Also, check with your doctor if a nipple has inverted or changed position; or if you see redness, soreness, a rash, or swelling.

Step 2: Now, raise your arms and look for the same changes.

While you’re facing the mirror, look for any signs of fluid coming out of one or both nipples (this could be a watery, milky, or yellow fluid– or blood).

Step 3: Next, feel your breasts while lying down:

Use your right hand to feel your left breast; your left hand to feel your right breast. Use a firm, smooth touch with the first few finger pads of your hand, keeping fingers flat and together. Use a circular motion, about the size of a quarter.

Cover the entire breast from top to bottom, side to side from your collarbone to the top of your abdomen, and from your armpit to your cleavage.

Follow a pattern to be sure that you cover the whole breast. You can begin at the nipple, moving in larger and larger circles until you reach the outer edge of the breast. You can also move your fingers up and down vertically, in rows, as if you were mowing a lawn. This up-and-down approach seems to work best for most women.

Be sure to feel all the tissue from the front to the back of your breasts: for the skin and tissue just beneath, use light pressure; use medium pressure for tissue in the middle of your breasts; use firm pressure for the deep tissue in the back. When you’ve reached the deep tissue, you should be able to feel down to your ribcage.

Step 4: Finally, feel your breasts while you are standing or sitting.

Many women find that the easiest way to feel their breasts is when their skin is wet and slippery, so they like to do this step in the shower. Cover your entire breast, using the same hand movements described in step 3.

When to Screen for Breast Cancer

The medical community has a broad consensus that women should have annual mammograms between the ages of 45 and 54. However, an independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is saying that women should now start getting mammograms every other year at the age of 40, suggesting that this lowered age for breast cancer screening could save 19% more lives.

The American Cancer Society recommends getting a mammogram every other year for women 55 and older. However, women in this age group who want added reassurance can still get annual mammograms.

WATCH: Mammograms are still the best tool for detecting breast cancer.

Women with a strong family history of breast cancer, a genetic mutation known to increase the risk of breast cancer, such as a BRCA gene mutation, or a medical history, including chest radiation therapy before the age of 30, are considered at higher risk for breast cancer.

Experiencing menstruation at an early age (before 12) or having dense breasts can also put you into a high-risk category. If you are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer, you should begin screening earlier.

Breast Cancer Surgery Decisions

When it comes to breast cancer surgery, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Choosing between a lumpectomy and a mastectomy is a deeply personal decision—one that depends on a range of medical and emotional factors.

“As a breast surgeon, my job is to help patients understand that their long-term survival with mastectomy is equivalent to that with lumpectomy and radiation,” says Dr. Sarah Cate, Chief of Breast Surgery at Stamford Hospital.

Still, many women request a double mastectomy (removal of both breasts), believing it offers the best protection against recurrence. But that’s not always the case. The size of the tumor, its genetic profile, and a patient’s family history all play a role in determining the most appropriate surgical path.

WATCH: Should I Have a Lumpectomy or Mastectomy?

“Mastectomy has very specific indications,” Dr. Cate explains.

“Some of the things that would predict a mastectomy are things like a large tumor size to breast ratio, or having cancer in more than one area of the breast, or having a genetic mutation.”

While a single or double mastectomy is often part of treatment, it’s also used preventatively for women at high risk of developing breast cancer.

“A double mastectomy typically takes about two hours for the cancer part of the operation, the removal of the tissue,” says Dr. Elisa Port, Chief of Breast Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System.

“The real length, the total length of the surgery, can often depend on what type of reconstruction [a patient] has.”

Today, most women choose to undergo some form of reconstruction, which can significantly extend the duration of surgery—especially when tissue is transferred from another part of the body.

“When you take tissue from another part of the body and transfer it to fill in the empty space where the breasts are, this is a very long operation,” Dr. Port says.

“It can take anywhere from six to 12 hours because it’s really like having a tummy tuck and then transferring the tissue and grafting the tissue, connecting the vessels, so those tissues have blood flow to live in,” Dr. Port adds.

For women with a strong family history or a known genetic mutation—such as BRCA1 or BRCA2—the decision to undergo a preventative mastectomy may be the most effective way to reduce their risk.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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