By KC IFEANYI

kni002@latech.edu

 

At the age of 21, Kim Shaw found a lump on her breast.

The possibility of losing her hair and/or her breasts consumed Shaw’s every thought while attending winter quarter classes.

The lump, which was a potentially malignant cyst, was surgically removed. However, the doctors said the cyst could come back carcinogenic.

“If it happens, I’ll deal with it,” Shaw, a senior psychology major, said.

According to thebreastcancersite.com, one woman every three minutes is diagnosed with breast cancer and one woman every 12 minutes will die from it.

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, she now knows the importance of getting checked.

“I never knew the age you were supposed to start [getting mammograms] was so early,” Shaw said. “I never thought I’d be dealing with this in my early 20s.”

Nancy Johnson, mammography director of the Green Clinic in Ruston, said early detection is the best way to battle the disease.

“Breast cancer can be cured,” Johnson said. “[However,] most people aren’t aware of how important getting mammograms are.”

In addition to getting mammograms regularly, Johnson said it is also important for women and men to check themselves routinely.

“The reason you want to do a self-examination is that you know your body better than anyone else,” Johnson said.

Sometimes, like in Andre Savoie’s mother’s case, lumps are found completely by accident.

“She was changing one morning and felt it,” Savoie, a junior interior design major, said.

“It was benign but she had her left breast removed anyway.”

Margaret Savoie’s breast cancer scare occurred when Savoie was only nine years old.

“I was a kid so I was generalizing cancer as ‘your mom is going to die,’” Savoie said.

Albeit a benign cyst, Shaw said it still raised a red flag.

“Cancer runs rampant in my family,” Shaw said.

She said several members of her family suffer from cancer, including an aunt who had both breasts removed.

Shaw said she has given serious thought to whether or not she would have a mastectomy (the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely) if the cyst were to return.

“Knowing you could potentially lose your breasts, you don’t feel like a girl,” Shaw said. “It’s like guys who get testicular cancer; you feel like you lose your identity.”

Shaw said she strongly encourages women and men to get checked for breast cancer.

“It’s scary,” Shaw said. “But if you detect it early, you’d be surprised at how much doctors can control it.”