Walking just be"CAUSE"...we care!

Today was the 21st annual Race Against Breast Cancer event that my team of coworkers and I have been involved in for over a dozen years!

Some walk either the 5 K or 1.5 mile fun walk while some of the more athletically inclined run the 5 K or 10 K race!

We joined over 4800 enthusiastic women, men and children to help raise funds for our local Avera Breast Cancer Foundation. They have helped thousands of women with breast cancer prevention, treatment and other services to assist them in their fight against this all too common disease.

In my profession as a registered Mammographer I have seen countless women some young, some old, some with family history of breast cancer, some without. I am not sure why I chose to specialize in this area for 17 years now and have now performed over 20,000 mammograms in my career. Maybe it's because those close to me have dealt with this disease at sometime in their lifetime as my mother, grandmother, aunt and cousin have all heard the words..."you have breast cancer". I know how with the help of self exams and early detection there is a much better survival rate as they find new ways to detect cancers in their early stages. I have seen the newest digital mammograms, the breast sonograms, the MRI studies, and now the new Tomosynthesis mammograms which are being tested around the nation for approval by the FDA. These new technologies are bringing this disease to it's knees... if you hear the words "you have breast cancer" you can be assured to know there is a high probability you will SURVIVE it!! There is also the new saliva tests being developed to detect DCIS (ductal cancer insitu) that is very promising...so many new technologies and new techniques to detect and cure this awful disease. So stay tuned...it's coming in our lifetime due to the hard work of researchers around the nation that are resolved to find a cure for breast cancer. Together we can STAY STRONG and bring HOPE to all that fight breast cancer just be"cause" we love them!!