AUGUSTA, Maine — The first mammogram that Joyce Taylor skipped turned out to be the most important.
With no history of breast cancer in her family, Taylor didn’t think she was at risk. Then on Mother’s Day of this year, she saw a public service announcement on television that urged self-examination and regular mammograms. She called her doctor the next day.
“Within 10 days I knew I had breast cancer,” said Taylor on Wednesday, as she and others, including Gov. Paul LePage, gathered to highlight that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “Of all the things I’ve worried about over the years, that was not on my list. … I skipped a mammogram and I shouldn’t have.”
Taylor, a Winthrop mother of two and chief engineer for the Maine Department of Transportation, said her journey through cancer diagnosis and treatment was full of surprises. For one, her first mammogram was inconclusive, so she asked her doctor for an ultrasound.
She said questionable mammogram results are more common than she knew, especially for women with dense breast tissue.
“Request an ultrasound,” she said.
Another surprise for Taylor was the level of support she received from doctors, family, co-workers and friends, which made her ordeal far easier than the rock-bottom reputation a bout with cancer has. That was up to and including the double mastectomy she chose to undergo.
“I never cried about my diagnosis. I never cried about losing my breasts,” she said. “Telling my children has been the hardest part of this, but I’m going to be OK.”
Taylor, who is now considered cancer free by her doctors — joined by LePage and others who have been affected by breast cancer — planted tulip bulbs outside the Department of Transportation’s Augusta headquarters. LePage joined Taylor in urging early examinations, for both women and men.
“Breast cancer doesn’t discriminate,” he said. “It doesn’t even discriminate against men. I know because I had a friend who died from it.”
Breast cancer affects approximately one in eight women. For information about early detection, visit the American Cancer Society’s website.
