MEQUON, Wisc. — October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and nearly 1 in 8 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with the disease during their lifetime.
It can come when you least expect it, and Cindy Wandschneider says she knows that all too well.
“I went in for a routine mammogram and within an hour and a half, I think, the nurse called me and said they knew right away,” said Wandschneider.
The Grafton woman tells me her battle began about six weeks ago, after a biopsy showed a stage two tumor.
She had surgery days later.
“I just had a feeling when I got the call that it was cancer or I wouldn't have gotten that call. It's just a shock. It's something that you're not planning on. It's not something that was in your, you know, that was even in my thoughts,” said Wandschneider.
At 61, Cindy says she's been getting yearly mammograms for at least 10 years, as part of her annual health routine.
Having just finished her first round of chemo, she's not scared, but determined.
“We're just going to tackle this as fast as we can and with as much grace and strength as I have. So, that's what I'm doing. I’m digging my heels in. Trying not to change as much of my life as I can. But yeah, get through it,” said Wandschneider.
With breast cancer research making incredible strides in the last 20 years, data shows it doesn’t necessarily matter if you’ve had family history; it can hit anyone at any time and at any age.
“We've seen patients who have avoided mammograms and then found out later that they did have a breast mass that spreads so I think early detection is the key,” said Dr. Douglas Puffer, Medical Oncology, Ascension Wisconsin.
While she still has three more rounds of chemo and radiation to go, Cindy hopes sharing her story will encourage others to get checked out as soon as possible.
“I have girlfriends that will ask me, ‘What can I do to help?’ and I'll say, get a mammogram. That is the message because yes, there's a lot of us that are getting this but the earlier that we can detect it, the richer our lives are going to be,” said Wandschneider.
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