Local Hospital Works To Save Lives One Screening At A Time

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Miss.(WCBI) –  It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the second most common cancer in Women worldwide.

A Montgomery County hospital is making its mission to save as many lives as possible in rural Mississippi.

Having the proper equipment is key in the fight against breast cancer. It can be difficult for small hospitals to afford that equipment.

A year into receiving life saving equipment, Tyler Holmes Memorial Hospital is helping save lives and making care easier.

It’s probably some of the most terrifying words to hear from a doctor: You’ve tested positive for Breast Cancer.

“I was getting a bath and I felt something. I was going to ignore it but went to my doctor. What I felt, we couldn’t feel it anymore. She did refer me to a mammogram. They found two lumps in my left breast. We did a biopsy and of course, it came back positive. So, after that my life changed forever,”said 2016 Breast Cancer Survivor Cendy Hall.

It’s a story Hall remembers every day, since the 2016 diagnosis.

The Tyler Holmes Memorial Hospital nurse remains thankful.

Last year, the hospital installed a mammography machine to ensure no one in the area went without access.

“We have seen a few breast cancers with a few patients. Fortunately we caught it, and they have had treatment and survived,”said Mammography tech Bridget Whittemore

Whittemore says the hospital has seen nearly 300 new patients since the equipment arrived.

“We are glad to offer these services here. Where the community and patient care can be done here locally in the rural areas and hopefully save some lives in the process,”said Whittemore.

Hall is happy to take a short drive to get the help she needs.

“It’s great we have it in the community a mammogram at our facility, because I always went to a town far away Starkville Mississippi to always have mine, and it is good to have the service here in our own hospital. I wish they had it when I was diagnosed to say that it was caught at home,”said Hall.

This isn’t just a female issue. Statistics show 480 men die each year from breast cancer.

As with any cancer, Early Detection is key.