Breast Cancer Survivors Tell of Life-Saving Mammograms

Unlike some people, Cathy DiPaula didn't dread her 50th birthday.

To her, it was the ultimate celebration of life. One year earlier, the Highlandtown native and current Woodlawn resident was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery at Greater Baltimore Medical Center to remove the tumor in 2004, followed by further treament, including radiation, at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

DiPaula, 56, is now cancer-free, all because she made sure to have her yearly mammogram on time.

"The initial review of the scan showed something and by the time I got home, there were calls from my primary doctor and my gynecologist," DiPaula said. "I celebrate every day of my life now."

DiPaula, who participates every year in the , said she is constantly reminding others about the importance of early detection, especially in October during .

"You have to take the time to take care of yourself," she said. "If I had waited another year, or even a few months more, who knows what my outcome would have been today."

Kathy Prior, an Abingdon resident, tells a similar story. She had her first mammogram 20 years ago at age 39.

That revealed Prior's first occurrence of breast cancer. She battled it with the help of a lumpectomy, radiation and five years of oral chemotherapy, which put her into remission.

"Those yearly mammograms are like clockwork for me now," Prior said. "They go right on my calendar."

It was that attention to detail that helped Prior's doctors detect her second instance of breast cancer last December. This time, she had a mastectomy and is following up with oral chemotherapy treatments. Again, early detection was the key to Prior, now 58, having a positive long-term prognosis.

"It's so important to be vigilant about early detection," said Prior, who is also the long-time survivors' chair for the . "I stress to everyone I know that a simple test can save your life."