Thankful For That Mammogram: A Patient’s Story

10/3/2023

Although most women know that mammograms are the best method to detect breast cancer early when it’s easier to treat, many women, like Dawn Picard, still put theirs off.

“It was easy to schedule my mammogram, but something always seemed to come up, and I would rearrange my schedule to take care of other things – my husband, my job, my family – until I finally stopped scheduling them altogether,” said Dawn, a 58 year-old massage therapist. “And, of course, I knew better. My mother died at the age of 53 from a hyper-aggressive form of breast cancer, and my half-sister also had breast cancer.”

“Putting it off” was Dawn’s trend for five years, until the urging of a friend finally convinced her to schedule her long overdue screening at a special mammogram event at Northwest Health – La Porte in October 2022; and Dawn is so grateful she did.

“All of my other mammograms were fine, so I really didn’t expect this one to be any different. Although I was behind in getting annual mammograms, I did do self-breast exams. I felt fine, and had no symptoms, so I was really surprised when they called and said they found something questionable and asked me to come back to take another one,“ said Dawn.

The second mammogram showed spots in both of Dawn’s breasts. Biopsies were scheduled for the next day, and that’s when it was confirmed that Dawn indeed had cancer in both breasts.

Dawn recalls that’s when everything became a whirlwind. “I was quickly scheduled for an MRI and had appointments with an oncologist and surgeon with Northwest Medical Group,” Dawn recalls. “They made all of the appointments. I didn’t lift a finger.”

During the consultations, the physicians went over her surgical treatment options. Due to her family history and the aggressive type of cancer found in Dawn’s breast which was similar to her mother’s, she chose to undergo a double mastectomy at Northwest Health – La Porte in hopes of removing all signs of cancer.

“I’m absolutely blessed that all of my test numbers after surgery were clear, and I didn’t have to go through any chemo or radiation therapy,” said Dawn. Dawn went back to work a few weeks after surgery and will be celebrating one year cancer-free in October 2023.

“Since my cancer diagnosis, I find myself asking many of my clients if they’ve had their mammo, and if they haven’t, I tell them my story and why they need to schedule it,” said Dawn. “We as women are so good at putting ourselves last. If someone needs something we take care of them before we take care of ourselves and that needs to change. I tell my friends and clients: ‘if you don’t take care of yourself, no one else will, and then who’s going to take care of your special someone if you’re not there.’” Dawn emphasized, “Keeping up with your mammo is so important, and I’ll never stop spreading that message.”

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