Around age 75, many women begin skipping the recommended annual or biennial screening mammogram. Mary Legree is not one of them.
Recognizing the critical role mammograms play in helping detect breast cancer early, the 80-year-old Lady’s Island resident has never failed to get the imaging test, even though she has no history of the disease in her family.
This summer, her vigilance paid off.
After years of receiving negative results, her latest mammogram turned up an abnormality in one of her breasts.
The imaging test was performed June 23 at the Beaufort Memorial Breast Health Center, a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence offering same-day results. After examining Legree’s X-rays, radiologist Dr. Eric Billig informed her he had found microcalcifications in her left breast and referred her to Beaufort Memorial general surgeon Dr. Tim Pearce.
“It was not a palpable mass, but it was very clear on the mammogram,” Dr. Pearce says. “These suspicious types of calcifications could be early breast cancer or could develop into more advanced breast cancer in the future.”
Read More: Two Reasons to Have a Mammogram Today
Navigating an Unexpected Diagnosis
At her first appointment with Dr. Pearce, Legree was introduced to a breast care navigator to help Legree navigate the process.
Dr. Pearce’s medical assistant, Elisa Caldwell, got the ball rolling, arranging the tests and consultations Legree’s diagnosis and treatment would require. Her nurse navigator would accompany her to all her appointments to explain the test procedures and answer any questions she had about her care. The first thing she needed was a needle biopsy to help determine the nature of the lesion in her breast.
“I was in the throes of planning a big party for my 80th birthday,” Legree says. “If it were going to be bad news, I wanted to put it off until after the celebration.”
The biopsy, which was performed Aug. 11 at the Breast Health Center, came back positive for ductal carcinoma in situ, a noninvasive breast cancer found in the lining of the breast milk ducts. To ensure it had not spread to the surrounding breast tissue, Dr. Pearce ordered a breast MRI.
Read More: Facts About Breast Cancer
“I was very nervous about the test,” Legree says. “I hoped the cancer had not spread to my other breast, but I had already decided I did not want aggressive treatment.”
Over the next week, she met with radiation oncologist Dr. Jonathan Briggs and medical oncologist Dr. Marcus Newberry. As part of the team approach to cancer care at Beaufort Memorial, the physicians and other cancer care providers meet bimonthly to discuss the results of imaging tests and pathology reports and develop a treatment strategy for each of their patients.
In Legree’s case, the MRI showed no multi-focal disease or additional disease. The results lifted her spirits and eased her anxiety.
Detected at the earliest stage of development, the pre-invasive cancer did not require chemotherapy. Because of her age, she would not need radiation either. The small mass could be removed with a lumpectomy, preserving her breast.
Performed as outpatient surgery, the procedure caused minimal disruption to Legree’s very busy life. A St. Helena Island native, she is actively involved in the Gullah community, helping educate the public about the Lowcountry culture and working to preserve the traditions passed on by her ancestors, enslaved West Africans brought to the South Carolina Sea Islands to grow rice and cotton.
Dr. Pearce performed the surgery Sept.16, and Legree was able to go home the same day.
“When I woke up, I didn’t feel like I had undergone an operation,” she says. “There was no bleeding and no pain. The only thing I felt was a little tenderness at the site of the incision.”
Looking Forward to the Future
Since her type of cancer is stimulated to grow by the hormone estrogen, Legree will need to take anastrazole, a hormone receptor blocker that limits the amount of estrogen the body produces. Taking a daily dose of anastrazole for the next five years will reduce the risk of her cancer coming back.
“If she had not had a mammogram, those cancerous cells may have been discovered as a big mass three or four years from now,” Dr. Pearce said. “Her treatment would most likely have involved chemotherapy and much more extensive surgery.”
For Legree, knowing she will be closely monitored by her cancer team for the rest of her life has relieved some of the anxiety of being a cancer survivor.
“I’m so fortunate the cancer was caught before it started traveling to other parts of my body,” she says. “That’s why early detection is so important. I absolutely encourage women to get annual mammograms. Cost should not be a factor. You can get a mammogram for as little as $99.”
As part of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Beaufort Memorial has partnered with MDsave to offer $99 mammograms through the month of October. You can pay the special rate now and schedule the mammogram any time in the next six months.
If you need financial assistance to cover the cost of your mammogram, contact AccessHealth Lowcountry at 843-522-5750.
Dr. Tim Pearce retired in September 2022.
