This is the breast of a 35-year-old woman. It's my breast.

That white dot has forever changed my life.

Leslie Mouton's Breast Cancer Diary
I have breast cancer. Those are words I never expected to say, especially this early in life. I'm living proof that it can happen to anyone -- even you.

I've decided to share my story in hope of encouraging all women, old and young, to do their breast self-exams.

Dr. Doris Leist, a general surgeon, showed me through a mammogram, the characteristics of cancer in my breast.

"Because it's not perfect round, you see the actual starburst appearance or speculated appearance," Dr. Leist said. "These are all characteristics of a cancer. In (your) case, it's infiltrated ductal carcinoma."

This mammogram wasn't what detected the cancer. It was a self-exam.

I felt the lump and said: "Oh, it's nothing." But then I decided to have it checked out, and thank the Lord I did.

From that moment, my life began moving at a furious pace.

I had the mammogram, sonogram and biopsy in one day. Two days later, my doctor called and said it wasn't what we had hoped. It was cancer.

I had surgery to remove the growth at North Central Baptist Hospital. By my side was my daughter Nicole, 2, and my husband, Tony Mattox.

"I think it was harder on me not being able to do anything," my husband said. "It was totally out of my control and that was hard."

Before surgery, my surgeon prepared me for what was ahead and warned me that we still didn't know if a lumpectomy or mastectomy would be required later.

Meanwhile, my family anxiously waited and worried. The first word came an hour after surgery. They said the lump was out and the surrounding area was clear.

Twenty minutes later, Dr. Leist came out.

"Clear margins around it. Lymph nodes, we have to wait and see what they say," she said. "(Leslie's) doing fine."

An hour later, I reunited with my family.

"Mommy, are you OK," little Nicole asked.

"I'm OK. I think," I said.

I was groggy and sore, but I was alive and less one cancerous lump in my breast.

The good news was my lymph nodes came back negative. It was caught early.

Those of you who don't do monthly exams because you think you wouldn't notice a new lump, you're wrong.

Trust me, it feels much different, and you will know. Any new lump is suspicious and should be examined by a doctor.

The easy part is over. Now comes the tough part -- four treatments of chemotherapy, six weeks of radiation, and years of taking tamoxifen, which will starve the cancer cells.

I'll keep you posted all the way through it.

Leslie did more than keep her audience posted, she shared the entire experience with the viewers. From radiation to broadcasting bald she did it all. Visit http://www.clickonsa.com/health/cancercenter/ to read experts from "Leslie's Diary".