Breast Self-Exams are Essential
Pat Dubray learned the importance of regular breast self-exams the hard way. And now she's determined to spread the word to spare other women the devastating experience she recently endured.
Dubray, a 49 year old Springfield resident, has been diligent about getting annual mammograms and yearly exams by her Women's Care gynecologist, Melissa Edwards, M.D. Because her mammograms were consistently negative, she did breast self-exams infrequently.
In July of 1999, Dubray noticed that her breasts appeared asymmetrical and that her right nipple was inverted. She examined her right breast with her fingertips and felt a lump. A biopsy a few days later confirmed her worst fears: The lump was a two-inch malignant tumor that hadn't shown up on a routine mammogram five months earlier. "I was in a state of disbelief," Dubray recalls. "Those first days were so difficult. My husband and I just cried together."
The following month, Dubray had a mastectomy. Six of her lymph nodes were removed; four of them were found to be cancerous. Her surgery was followed by chemotherapy and radiation.
Dubray says she was lulled into a false sense of security until her cancer diagnosis. "Because I always had annual exams and mammograms, I assumed that if I got cancer, we'd catch it early. I know now that mammograms are just one tool used for detection and that monthly breast self-exams are the most important thing women can do for themselves. If I'd found my lump earlier, I might have needed only a lumpectomy and radiation."
As a result of her battle with cancer, Pat Dubray has become a breast cancer awareness activist. She and her husband, Gary, are owners of Texaco Express Lube in Springfield. Through their business, the Dubrays recently sponsored a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society's breast cancer research. "Cancer changes your life forever," observes Pat Dubray. "If this is now my purpose in life, I plan to do as much with it as I can. Breast self-exams are essential to our survival as women."
Breast cancer is the third leading cause of death among women, after heart disease and lung cancer. According to Miffy Davis, a registered nurse with Women's Care, the key to preventing breast cancer deaths is early detection and treatment. Davis emphasizes that because mammograms fail to detect 10 percent of breast cancers, women must help insure early detection of lumps by doing three things faithfully: monthly breast self-exams, annual physician exams, and yearly mammograms after age 40.
To teach women to perform an effective breast self-exam, Women's Care provides free instruction using a life-sized breast model. Davis offers private, 15-minute appointments to interested women at our clinic at 590 Country Club Parkway. Or, Davis will bring the training to groups in the workplace. Call 686-2922 to schedule an appointment.
Dubray, a 49 year old Springfield resident, has been diligent about getting annual mammograms and yearly exams by her Women's Care gynecologist, Melissa Edwards, M.D. Because her mammograms were consistently negative, she did breast self-exams infrequently.
In July of 1999, Dubray noticed that her breasts appeared asymmetrical and that her right nipple was inverted. She examined her right breast with her fingertips and felt a lump. A biopsy a few days later confirmed her worst fears: The lump was a two-inch malignant tumor that hadn't shown up on a routine mammogram five months earlier. "I was in a state of disbelief," Dubray recalls. "Those first days were so difficult. My husband and I just cried together."
The following month, Dubray had a mastectomy. Six of her lymph nodes were removed; four of them were found to be cancerous. Her surgery was followed by chemotherapy and radiation.
Dubray says she was lulled into a false sense of security until her cancer diagnosis. "Because I always had annual exams and mammograms, I assumed that if I got cancer, we'd catch it early. I know now that mammograms are just one tool used for detection and that monthly breast self-exams are the most important thing women can do for themselves. If I'd found my lump earlier, I might have needed only a lumpectomy and radiation."
As a result of her battle with cancer, Pat Dubray has become a breast cancer awareness activist. She and her husband, Gary, are owners of Texaco Express Lube in Springfield. Through their business, the Dubrays recently sponsored a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society's breast cancer research. "Cancer changes your life forever," observes Pat Dubray. "If this is now my purpose in life, I plan to do as much with it as I can. Breast self-exams are essential to our survival as women."
Breast cancer is the third leading cause of death among women, after heart disease and lung cancer. According to Miffy Davis, a registered nurse with Women's Care, the key to preventing breast cancer deaths is early detection and treatment. Davis emphasizes that because mammograms fail to detect 10 percent of breast cancers, women must help insure early detection of lumps by doing three things faithfully: monthly breast self-exams, annual physician exams, and yearly mammograms after age 40.
To teach women to perform an effective breast self-exam, Women's Care provides free instruction using a life-sized breast model. Davis offers private, 15-minute appointments to interested women at our clinic at 590 Country Club Parkway. Or, Davis will bring the training to groups in the workplace. Call 686-2922 to schedule an appointment.
