October is National Breast Cancer awareness month and Banner Lassen Medical Center is sharing an important story to help encourage all women to get a mammogram as part of their annual checkup after they turn 40-years old.
For Sherrell McBroome, there was no lump. In fact, it felt like nothing more than a pulled a muscle when she made an appointment at Banner Lassen Medical Center to get a mammogram ahead of her regular schedule.
When the mammogram quickly turned into an ultrasound, the Susanville, Calif. resident knew something was wrong. As it turns out, McBroome had Stage 2 breast cancer that, lucky for her, was
caught and treated early.
McBroome said had she ignored her “pulled muscle” or skipped her mammogram that year, her outcome could have been very different.
“Get your mammogram; it can save your life,” she said.
McBroome, who has no family history of the disease, said she was impressed by the responsiveness of the staff at Banner Lassen, who, once they identified the tumor, acted quickly to schedule a biopsy to determine whether or not the abnormality discovered in the medical images was cancerous.
“They really jumped on it and got everything done that I needed very fast,” McBroome said. “I don’t think a lot of people in the community know that Banner Lassen is cutting edge with mammography.”
Robert Leckie, MD, chief radiologist at Banner Lassen, was the doctor who caught McBroome’s cancerous tumor, which was only about a quarter of an inch at the time. Her treatment began in May
2018 and included surgery, chemotherapy and then radiation. More than a year later, McBroome is enjoying life cancer free.
“By catching the cancer early, we’re much more likely to cure it,” Dr. Leckie said. “That’s a huge advantage, and we’re very happy for her and excited that we helped.”
Dr. Leckie said that while one in eight women will get diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, only a small percentage of women actually get regular mammograms.
With October recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, both McBroome and Dr. Leckie are encouraging all women to get their first mammogram by age 40 and then continue annual
mammograms every year after that. Banner Lassen Medical Center offers comprehensive medical imaging services, including 3D mammography, breast ultrasound and breast MRI.
