A few weeks shy of my 29th birthday, I discovered a pea-sized lump in my armpit. After an abnormal ultrasound and mammogram, I scheduled an appointment at MD Anderson’s Undiagnosed Breast Clinic for additional screening. That’s where I first met Tiffiny Jackson, a nurse practitioner in the clinic.    

I let Jackson know that while I had no immediate family history of breast cancer, I had beaten early-stage melanoma...