Call me weird but I like political campaigns. I like the fast pace, the energy required for a campaign. And, I like the contact with people. In late September, 1994 I was in full "campaign mode." I was in the middle a meeting with Les Cohen. I hoped to convince him to support me in the city council election. Les is a great talker and I lost track of time. "Don't you have someplace to be at one?" he asked. Without skipping a beat I said "Oh, it's just a mammogram. I'll re-schedule." He looked at me like a father and said "Oh, no, Kid, you go get that mammogram!"
I hate mammograms. Like most women, I think some woman hater who used to press pants for a living invented them . But, I like Les Cohen and so I jumped in the car and kept my appointment.
Kerri Lee is a very professional technician at Sharp Mission Park Radiation and she did my mammogram on that day. I had been having mammograms every year or so year since my mid-forties and they were always over in just a few minutes. I fully expected that to be the case that day, but as I was getting dressed to rush on to my next campaign meeting, Kerri popped into the dressing room and told me she needed to look at something closer.
That night I tried to feel the lump she had seen on the mammogram. I couldn't feel at and even Dr. Kroener, my surgeon, could not feel it. It was only the mammogram and Kerri Lee's skill that found my breast cancer.
Three years have passed and I have had a mastectomy and chemotherapy. My cancer is in remission. But I still see Kerri Lee every year to have a mammogram on the remaining breast.
Mammograms , self breast exams and examination by a physician can save your life. Breast cancer can be treated and the treatment is more effective when detected early. Research is making it possible for more women to survive than ever before. And yet, a alarming number of women continue to die needlessly from cancers that could have been detected by a regular mammogram.
I know that breast cancer is frightening, but there are hundreds of thousands of survivors. Life is so fulfilling. Because my cancer was found by a mammogram, I have seen the birth of a new grandchild. I have watched my other grandchildren grow and I have danced with my husband at three more anniversaries.
Being afraid of what you might find is no excuse. Cancer feeds on fear. And, lack of finances is also no excuse. Legislation passed in 1993 created a Breast Cancer Fund from the two-cent tax on tobacco. Half of the money is earmarked for breast cancer research and the other 50% established early detection programs for uninsured or underinsured women 40 years of age and older. These programs include diagnostic services and provider education and assistance.
I recently spoke with Rick Landavazo, the Health Education Specialist at the Breast Cancer Early Detection Program. Rick told me that North County women can get services through several clinics located throughout North County. Women wanting to be screened under the BCEDP can call 800-400-4922.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is a good time for you to fight cancer by having a mammogram or helping someone else to have one. I wish that every woman could have a friend like Les Cohen who would say to her --"You go get that mammogram!"
