| Sept. 30, 2004
Ishpeming woman
professes importance of breast self-examinations and mammograms
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
By JIM LAJOIE
Marquette General Hospital
When
Barbara Waters was told she had breast cancer, she remembers
an overwhelming urge to cry and an intense
struggle to get out of bed each morning.
Barbara Waters, 42, of Ishpeming does some paperwork while working
as anassistant bookkeeper in the Country Village in Ishpeming.
Waters, a breast cancer survivor, encourages women to pay attention
to their bodies by conducting breast self-examinations and receiving
yearly mammograms. During October,Marquette General Hospital and
Premier Imaging Associates are teaming up to offer reduced-rate
mammograms with interpretation. The total cost for a bilateral
mammogram with interpretation is $50. (MGH photo)
“It’s an emotion you can’t explain. You’re scared because
you’re not sure what is coming next,” said the 42-year-old Ishpeming
woman. “The first week was really difficult after I found out. After that,
with the support of loved ones, I got through it.”
Waters is a breast cancer survivor. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month,
a time for women to recognize the importance of breast self-exams and annual
mammograms. According to the National Breast
Cancer Coalition (NBCC), more
women in the United States live with breast cancer (approximately 3 million)
than any other cancer (excluding skin cancer).
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women behind
lung cancer, and is the leading cause of cancer death among women ages 35
to 54.
Research reveals that the mortality rate could decrease by 30 percent if
all women age 50 and older who need a mammogram had one.
According to the Upper Michigan
Cancer Center Tumor Registry based at Marquette
General, breast cancer deaths of patients treated at Marquette General were
only 3.3 percent in 2001, which is significantly lower than the national
rate of 15 percent registered with the National Cancer Database.
To encourage women to receive yearly check-ups and mammograms, Marquette
General Hospital and Premier Imaging Associates are again teaming up to offer
reduced-rate
mammograms with interpretation during October. The total cost for a bilateral
mammogram with interpretation is $50. A written order from a physician is
required to schedule a mammogram.
Mammograms will be offered at Marquette General, MGH Imaging Services in
the Peninsula Medical Center and MMC-Escanaba.
Waters is living proof that precautionary measures do indeed save lives.
Barbara Waters
“Women cannot allow themselves to put it off,” said Waters, an assistant
bookkeeper in the Country Village in Ishpeming. “My girlfriend and I used
to giggle about breast self-exams, but we don’t anymore. We need to know
our own bodies so we can more quickly detect problems.”
Waters first felt an abnormality during a routine breast self-examination
in October 2001. She was only 39 years old.
“It was enough for me to go in and get a mammogram done,” she said.
The
mammogram and ultrasound revealed a cyst on the breast. Four months later, with
the urging of her girlfriend, Waters had a stereotactic biopsy performed
at Bell Medical, and the results were inconclusive.
Waters then underwent a lumpectomy in which Dr.
John Kosinski, a surgeon
on staff at Marquette General, removed a lump (or tumor) in the breast,
along with a small margin of the surrounding normal breast tissue.
“When Dr. Kosinski walked into the exam room several days later to tell
me the results, I could tell by the look on his face that it wasn’t good
news,” she said. “I kicked him in the shin and screamed, ‘No!’
“When you hear it’s cancer, you can’t comprehend it … it’s
so overwhelming. When you hear cancer, you immediately think it’s bad.”
Following the surgery, Waters received three chemotherapy treatments over
a three-month period, followed by six and one-half weeks of radiation at
Marquette
General. In between, Dr. Kosinski performed exploratory surgery on her
lymph nodes, which revealed no cancer.
The most frightening aspect of cancer was worrying about her three children
(ages 17, 15 and 12), Waters said.
“Everything happened so fast,” she said. “It’s such an
emotional trip. They were a huge support and picked up the extra slack at
home.
“Even today, I worry about my three kids. I have two daughters, and I don’t
want them to have to go through this. It plays a big part on your emotions.”
Today, cancer-free, Waters visits Marquette General oncologist/hematologist
Dr. Tallat Mahmood every four months to evaluate her status.
“They keep a close eye on me, to make sure it’s not coming back,” she
said.
She credits the chemotherapy and radiation oncology staff at Marquette General
for their dedicated and compassionate care.
“They are fantastic,” she said. “They made it so easy, I actually
looked forward to my treatments. They were so good at keeping my spirits
up.”
Dr. Mahmood, board certified in oncology, hematology and internal medicine,
says females should not underestimate the value of screening mammography
and early detection of breast cancer.
Women with a family history of breast
cancer
are at higher risk of contracting the disease.
“Breast cancer is one of the few cancers for which we have had an impact
and have seen a decline in mortality,” she said. “This is largely
the result of earlier detection of the disease with routine mammography,
breast self-exams, and physician breast exams."
Surviving breast cancer has given Waters’ life new meaning.
“You get to the point where you have to face this head-on, and once you
do, life is even more wonderful living,” she said. “It gives you
a whole different outlook. There were so many caring people in this world I didn’t
even know. It’s brought more people — great people — into
my life.”
For more information on breast cancer, call the Upper Michigan Cancer Center
HopeLine at
1-888-906-HOPE, a service of the Upper Michigan Cancer Center at
Marquette General (www.mgh.org/cancer/index.html).
To schedule a mammogram, call Central Scheduling at 225-3551 or 1-800-562-9753,
ext. 3551.
|
