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CHARLOTTE, NC – Every year, more than 200,000 Americans are diagnosed with breast cancer.
The good news, however, is that more people are surviving through better diagnostic tools, such as surgical techniques and targeted therapies. Yet breast cancer will claim more than 40,000 lives this year, just after lung cancer.
This is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States. Early detection is essential and the American Cancer Society recommends that women aged 45 to 54 years have a mammogram.
Maura McCarthy was only 41 years old when she was diagnosed.
"I had the impression that they had had the wrong person and that they had confused me with someone else because I did not did not feel, "said McCarthy. "I felt healthy."
She said that there was also no history of cancer in her family. McCarthy was brought back after a routine mammogram for a biopsy, but she had to wait a week for the results to be communicated to her.
"I can not imagine what this wait-and-see process was like all week," said Sarah French, presenter of NBC Charlotte, at McCarthy.
"It's really tough, you know," McCarthy said. "Trying to be positive and not thinking too much about it, but at the same time, I was getting ready." About a week later, I was brought back because they would not give you any results on the phone and they sat in a room.It was a cancer
"How was it when these words came out of the doctor's mouth that you have breast cancer?" French asked.
"Shocking," said McCarthy. "Still to this day, it sounds surreal."
McCarty chose to undergo a double mastectomy to avoid having radiation therapy. However, the hardest thing for her was to tell her children.
"They were shocked, but at the same time, they had heard of women who were still here and surviving, so I think that's what gave them hope," McCarthy said. "I was strong for them but I also learned that loud does not mean you do not cry.
McCarthy has learned to turn his pain into his goal. She started working with BCC Rally and the Pink Bow campaign, which started 15 years ago and raised nearly $ 2 million for breast cancer.
"This Pink Bow campaign was designed to show solidarity to those fighting breast cancer, but now I see it as a way to remind people of their mammograms."
McCarthy also found another way to cope with his diagnosis.
"One of my doctors had recommended me to find something for you – whatever it is, it's a goal for you to go forward," he said. she said.
And she did it by putting one foot in front of the other. She ran for the Susan G. Komen Healing Race, which was her first half-marathon.
"Yes, I've had breast cancer but I'm a thriver," McCarthy said.
McCarthy proves to everyone that even after a cancer diagnosis, with the help of family, friends and a little encouragement, you can go ahead to help others while at the same time. along the process.
© 2018 WCNC
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