BUFFALO, N.Y. — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a month known for people wearing the color pink and pink ribbons in recognition of survivors, the thousands of people battling the disease, and the effort to raise awareness through preventative education, all in an effort to save lives.
According the the American Cancer Society, over 42 thousand women will die from Breast Cancer in 2020 alone. All the more important, experts and doctors say, to make sure people are educated 365 days a year.
Annette Colden is more than familiar with Cancer. She was 30 years old when her sister died from Breast Cancer. Her father and three brothers also died from Prostate Cancer. Colden says, even though she knew it was a possible that she could be at risk, mammograms weren't something that she thought about much. That is until her sister passed.
"She made me promise her that I would have my mammograms." And so, at 40 years old, Colden had her first one.
After that, she had two more. While she noticed a tiny lump during her second mammogram, Colden's doctor told her not to worry, despite her own negative intuitions and concern.
It turns out, her intuition was right and that's what led her to get a third mammogram. It was then, in front of the same doctor that had previously misdiagnosed her during one of her visits, that she found out she did in fact have Breast Cancer.
It was a long journey. "It was a rough road, it was a very very rough road," Colden says.
Her operation went from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., she recalls. But with faith and family, the impossible was made possible.
Dr. Ermelinda Bocaccio is Chair of Diagnostic Oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and says hearing and sharing survivor stories is a great way to raise awareness and motivate individuals to invest in their own health.
"I encourage women who feel a lump to not just have someone else feel it even if it is a medical professional and say it's ok, if they really feel that their breast is different, we need to some how image it, and what I mean by that...a mammogram and or an ultrasound."
October 9, 2020 was Annette Colden's 12 year anniversary as a Breast Cancer Survivor, a day she says, she will always cherish. As she will, every anniversary thereafter.