Video: Surviving Breast Cancer
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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Breast Cancer does not discriminate. Women of all ages can be affected by it. Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle hosted a seminar providing the latest information on the fight against breast cancer.
Elizabeth Sykes was only 25 when she discovered a lump in her breast. She had no prior history of cancer in her family. Being a nurse at Baptist Memorial didn’t shield her from the shock of her cancer diagnosis but she says she has come to terms with it.
“Early detection, it basically saves your life. The earlier you find it, the better your prognosis will be. It’s not a death sentence. It’s not the end of the world. Doing the self breast exam is very important because that’s how I found mine. Also, just having your yearly mammograms especially if you’re over 40,” says Sykes.
Sykes was diagnosed four years ago and is now in remission. She is still taking chemo therapy and planning her future.
“I still want to have children but since I’m on the chemo pill and I actually have a year and a half left on it. So I can’t have children until I finish that,” says Sykes.
Oncologist & Hematologist Dr. Vel Matthews-Smith says with thousands of women fighting breast cancer, coming together as a community is key.
“What we’re trying to do is make sure that the women in this community don’t become one of those statistics. Breast cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer related deaths in women and about 1 in 8 women are going to be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives so this is a huge issue,” says Smith.
The seminar was open to the public and attended by many breast cancer survivors.
For more information about breast cancer, you can go to the following websites:
http://ww5.komen.org/ Susan G Komen Foundation
http://www.breastcancerawareness.com/ Breast Cancer Awareness
http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/ National Breast Cancer Foundation
http://nbcam.org/ National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
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