As you think about a feature story for Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, I encourage you to consider the story of Susan Matsuko Shinagawa, a third-generation Japanese American woman. In 1991, she noticed a lump in her breast during her monthly self-exam.

Her mammogram was negative, but a sonogram revealed the lump was a solid mass. A surgeon diagnosed Susan with fibrocystic breast disease - lumpy breasts - and refused to do a biopsy because she was too young to have breast cancer and because, "Asian women don't get breast cancer."

To read more of Susan's story, download it here: Susan's Story

Learn more about the organization that Susan helped to create: Asian & Pacific Islander National Cancer Survivors Network (APINCSN).

If you would like to interview Susan Shinagawa or other experts on breast cancer in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, please email our Chronic Disease Program Director, Roxanna Bautista or contact her by phone at (415) 568-3304.