‘GO GET IT DONE’
Breast cancer survivor stresses importance of regular exams
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of articles focused on breast cancer that will be published during October as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Local resident Ruby Heard, a three-year breast cancer survivor, strives to spread awareness of the disease to ensure women get regular breast exams.
“A lot of people think, ‘It’s not in my family, I don’t have to worry about it,’ but you do have to worry about it,” Heard said. “All women need to be checked at a certain age. My daughters have started early after they found out that I had it.”
According to the American Cancer Society’s website, it is estimated that in 2020 alone, about 276,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed; about 48,530 new cases of carcinoma in situ — the earliest form of breast cancer — will be diagnosed; and about 42,170 women will die from breast cancer.
After skipping a few annual breast exams, Heard was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 58.
“Three years ago,” she said, “a friend of mine that worked here (at National Park Medical Center) — a nurse who has since passed — but she came to me and asked had I got my mammogram yet, and me, I’m putting it off as much as I can, and finally I said ‘OK, let me go get this done.’
“I went and got it done and it came back that I had breast cancer. It’s in my family real strong — my mom had breast cancer, I have two aunts with breast cancer — so cancer was really running in my family.
“After I (found out) I had it, I went to the breast center and everybody there was so awesome with me, taking care of me. My daughters have all had the test
done to make sure they don’t carry that, and theirs came back negative, but one of my main things now is to encourage people to go and have the mammogram done.”
Heard said from here on out, she will not miss another annual breast exam.
“I’m glad that I went ahead and got it done because if I hadn’t have gotten it done when I did I could have — they wouldn’t have found it earlier, and I may not be standing here talking with you like this, so I’m blessed,” she said. “I’m one of the blessed, I’m a three-year survivor and I am very happy about that.
“I’ve dealt with the radiation and the surgery, but God has been so awesome, and I have done so good with this, and I thank God for this opportunity to be able to tell other people, ‘ Please, go get it done, go check.’ I try to remind everybody in the month of October, and wearing pink, and giving out pink patches and pink ribbons” to spread awareness.
According to the Cancer Society website, breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, except for skin cancers.
“Currently,” it said, “the average risk of a woman in the United States developing breast cancer sometime in her life is about 13%. This means there is a 1 in 8 chance she will develop breast cancer. This also means there is a 7 in 8 chance she will never have the disease.”