…AND I’M BACK

Well hello!  How have you been?  Whoa, I’ve been busy.  Crazy in fact.  But all good things.  Since we last spoke, I’ve launched a new organization that will save lives.  It’s called Each One Tell One.  My partners are Heather Reimer and Chiqeeta Jameson.  Heather is a breast cancer survivor.  Her cancer was missed on a mammogram.  A SonoCine automated whole breast ultrasound she randomly received found a marble sized tumor. Chiqeeta’s story is similar.  Only while on chemo, she got the wrong cocktail, taking away her ability to have children.  And as you all know, my mom died from breast cancer after her mammogram missed four tumors in her left breast.  Her disease had spread to a tumor in her neck and out of the 54 lymph nodes her surgeon took out… 38 tested positive for cancer.  All of these stories have one common denominator.  All these women have dense breast tissue. So under the Each One Tell One umbrella, we created The Dangerous Boobs Tour.  We are traveling the country educating anyone who will listen to us that mammography isn’t enough for women with dense breast tissue.  Here are the stats:

40% of women have dense breast tissue

50% of cancerous tumors are missed on mammography

70% of all breast cancers occur in women with dense breast tissue

85% of women don’t know what type of tissue they have.

Those number are shocking.  Those numbers mean women are dying needlessly.  Those numbers are huge, but the only number that really matters to me is 1.  My mom.  She died from dense breast tissue.  She died because no one ever told her additional screenings can see what mammography misses.  A SonoCine machine was 2 miles from her house.  But technology is useless if you don’t know about it or know how it can help you.  So, in honor of my mom, The Dangerous Boobs Tour is doing what we can to inform women about dense breast tissue.  We’ve already made presentations to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Women’s Task Force.  We just got back from speaking at the National Women’s Survivors Convention in Nashville. And we are looking forward to doing more.  Please go to www.eachonetellone.com Educate yourself about dense breast tissue.  Ask your doctor if you have it.  If you do, ask about additional screenings that might be right for you.

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About Wendy D

I was born in San Francisco and ended up marrying a rancher in Reno, Nevada. I have a big city job anchoring the 5 o’clock news but come home to the country where my husband’s family has ranched for 5 generations.

Comments

  1. Cathy says:

    Hi Wendy,

    Had a mammogram 2 weeks ago that came back stating I have dense breast tissue. I asked the doctor to order an ultrasound which was done Aug 6th and should have results in a week. My mom is a breast cancer survivor of 20 years but that puts me at an even higher risk and as you know, you cannot be too careful. I have pointed friends and family members in the direction of your video in hopes that they in turn will forward it to their friends.

  2. Lillia says:

    That’s fantastic about your new organization. Hopefully it’ll further educate women on this important topic.

    Is there a difference between the SonoCine at Renown and the ABUS screening at St. Mary’s? Or are they the same screenings with different brands of machines? I thought about this when I picked up a flyer (titled “Do you have dense breast tissue?) at Walmart that was advertising the ABUS at St. Mary’s. Thanks!

  3. Tasha Witt says:

    Wendy,
    So sorry to hear about your mother’s breast cancer and passing. I remember how nice she was when I was over at one of your birthday parties in elementary school. My heart goes out to your family in losing her to breast cancer. You are being amazing and proactive in spreading the word about dense breast tissue and educating others. Dylan is a radiologist and specializes in breast mammography. I have dense breast tissue. I will link your post and spread the word!
    Love,
    Tasha

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