When you feel healthy, it’s tempting to delay annual checkups and screenings. No symptoms means no concerns, right?
Unfortunately, underlying medical conditions often go undetected for too long without regular preventive care. Even with the busiest schedule, your health should always be a priority.
Breast cancer remains the second-leading cause of cancer death in U.S. women and annual mammograms are still the best way to catch it early — even before symptoms appear. Jaime Gill, an AdventHealth breast cancer survivor, shares her journey of how an annual screening mammogram helped her get a jumpstart on treating her breast cancer.
The Key to Lifesaving Early Detection
After facing a few health issues, Jaime decided to make 2024 her year of health — starting with a preventive care appointment with her primary care provider. At her primary care appointment, Jaime’s doctor encouraged her to schedule a mammogram. “I had turned 40 — when you’re supposed to get your mammogram — during the pandemic, but a lot of doctors’ offices and facilities were closed, and they weren’t doing mammograms unless it was an emergency.”
A mammogram is such a powerful screening tool because of its ability to catch breast cancer early. In fact, it can detect breast cancer up to two years before a tumor can be felt by you or your doctor.
Jaime continues, “I went in for my mammogram appointment and my doctor said, ‘I just want to warn you because you have very dense breast tissue: they may call you right back. Don’t be nervous.’ They called me right back the next day to come in for more testing, and then a third time that week for a biopsy.”
Jaime’s Breast Cancer Diagnosis
When her results came back, Jaime was stunned. “It wasn’t about someone down the street; it wasn’t about someone on TV. It was about me, and it literally took my breath away because breast cancer doesn’t run in my family. It wasn’t on my radar.”
Jaime was diagnosed with stage one, grade three breast cancer, meaning she had a small, but aggressive and fast-growing tumor. Thankfully, it had been caught early.
Like Jaime, many women with breast cancer have no symptoms. According to the American Cancer Society, many decades of research show women who have regular mammograms are more likely to have breast cancer found early, are less likely to need aggressive treatment like surgery or chemotherapy and are more likely to be cured.
After the initial shock wore off, Jaime attended a breast cancer education class and decided to approach her diagnosis as if she were back in school or starting a new job: as an opportunity to learn. She shares, “My new job was living, and I had to study. I paid attention to my doctor’s appointments; I took notes at every appointment. I found reliable resources and didn’t allow myself to go down the dark hole of Google. I joined a few social media groups to see other women’s stories.”
Jaime chose to reframe her perspective on her diagnosis. She and her mother would wear bright colors and lipstick for each appointment, with the goal of finding joy in each day. Having always been interested in changing her hair, she embraced shaving her head, as bald is the only style she had never tried. “I went with it and made it fun. It allowed me to focus on my fun earrings, you know? The people at my chemo treatments called me Little Miss Sunshine because I’m determined to be a light wherever I go.”
“I get emotional when I talk about my medical team, because they saw me. I have an amazing medical team, and so, even on my darkest days, they were there. I wasn’t just another random patient. I wasn’t another number,” Jaime explains. They would see my frustration and sickness, and they would tend to my heart. They’d come and hold my hand, give me a hug and just sit and listen before putting an IV in.”
Following a breast reduction and lumpectomy, and then chemotherapy, Jaime has been cancer-free since October 22, 2024, and if there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s never to lose hope.
Know Your Risk for Breast Cancer
It’s important to know your risk for breast cancer. Some risk factors you can control, like your weight and lifestyle. Others you can’t, including:
- Age
- Density of breast tissue
- Family history of breast cancer
- First menstrual period before age 12
- Genetic mutations BRCA1 and BRCA2
- History of fibroids or other benign breast conditions
- Race and ethnicity
When you understand the breast cancer risk factors you can control, you can manage them better with the guidance of physicians who have your whole health in mind.
Screening if You’re at High Risk
If your risk for breast cancer is higher than average, your care team may recommend additional screenings that include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound. Although these can be combined with a mammogram, they are not a replacement.
MRI
Instead of X-rays, an MRI scan uses a magnetic field to make images. Although an MRI can find breast cancer that mammography misses, it doesn’t find all breast cancers. An MRI is effective for women whose health history includes:
- BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation
- Immediate family member — mother, sister or child — with BRCA1 or BRCA2
- Radiation treatment to the chest between the ages of 10 and 30
Ultrasound
This exam uses sound waves to make an image. Women who are pregnant or at very high risk for breast cancer, and who can’t have an MRI or be exposed to X-rays, can benefit from an ultrasound. It’s also better at finding breast cancers in women who have dense breast tissue, which is more difficult to diagnose using mammography.
Feel Empowered With Preventive Care
If you’re between the ages of 20 and 40, you should have a clinical breast exam by your doctor at least every three years. If you’re 40 or older, an annual screening mammogram may be recommended by your doctor. Our breast cancer screenings are focused on one thing: protecting your whole health. Your long-term well-being is important to us — and taking the first step is up to you. Make an appointment for your screening mammogram today.
