- A local breast cancer survivor is using her story to promote the importance of early detection.
- A 'Pamper Me Pink' event also spread awareness to more than 100 neighbors.
- Studies show that when breast cancer is caught in its earliest, localized stages, the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%.
- Watch the video to learn more about how early detection can save lives for men and women.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A healthy, young woman with no family history of breast cancer just finished chemotherapy treatment for Stage 2 breast cancer. She's using her experience to raise awareness about the importance of early detection. I'm Kenya Cardonne your Southeast Tallahassee neighborhood reporter. Here's a closer look at her story.
Kara Butler, Breast Cancer Survivor - "When I got the call, it's real what they say — time does stop."
Southeast Tallahassee neighbor Kara Butler explains to me the terrifying moment she was given life-changing test results.
Butler - "'Hey, Miss Butler is this a good time to speak?' and I was like yeah of course it is, thinking that it was nothing. And they were like, 'well, we just want to let you know the test came back and you do have cancer.'"
Stage 2 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma— a breast cancer diagnosis she wasn't expecting at 37 years old.
Butler tells me she doesn't have a breast cancer history in her family. She adds she has been an active, non-smoking, healthy woman for as long as she can remember.
But a routine checkup flagged a concern.
Butler - "She thought that she felt a lump on the right side."
Butler says her doctor ordered her several tests, including a mammogram, a screening that women typically don't do until they reach 40.
But had she or her doctor ignored the early signs, Butler's story could have been completely different.
Butler - "I would've had the cancer then for over four years. There's no telling where it would've spread. There's no telling what stage it would've been, had I waited."
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, "advances in early detection and treatment methods have significantly increased breast cancer survival rates in recent years." So much so that, "when caught in its earliest, localized stages, the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%." And once patients survive that five year mark, chances of their cancer returning are low.
Butler isn't alone in raising awareness about the need for early detection.
Ayasha Scott, Tallahassee Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority - "If we're more informed, you know we can get ahead of it."
Saturday, the Tallahassee Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority held a 'Pamper Me Pink' event, where more than 100 neighbors gathered to hear from breast cancer survivors and promote early detection.
Scott told me, "So we want to bring that information to people so they can see and touch people that this has actually happened to, so that they can move forward and make better decisions."
Butler says "This is nothing to be fearful of, this is a life-saving measure. This will save your life."
Butler joins more than four million breast cancer survivors in the U.S., after undergoing her final round of chemo treatment and a mastectomy.
But she hopes her story serves as a reminder for women and men to learn about breast cancer and take routine care seriously.
She says there are organizations like Know Your Lemons, which educate on breast cancer and early detection, without the anxiety.
Butler adds, "Don't put it off, because your family can be without you because of it."
If you're looking for an opportunity to join in on the Breast Cancer Awareness movement, there will be a Breast Cancer Health and Wellness Walk on Sunday, October 20th at Cascades Park.
In Southeast Tallahassee, Kenya Cardonne, ABC 27
