COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Throughout the month of October, we learn more about breast cancer awareness and how we can take preventative steps towards our health.
Carla Burkhalter is a nurse at Baylor Scott & White in College Station battling breast cancer.
“I’ve always treated my patients as if I were in their shoes,” said Burkhalter. “I think that’s very important as a nurse and to actually walk those shoes of a breast cancer patient has been a challenge, but I feel like my knowledge has helped me get through it.”
In March 2021, Burkhalter had a mammogram that came back normal, but it wasn’t until an ultrasound in November of 2021 that would confirm she had breast cancer.
“I completed five and half months of chemo in May and had five weeks of daily radiation and ended at the end of July and I will now have my second reconstruction surgery November 21st,” said Burkhalter.
Dr. Michele Garant said women can become familiar with their breasts by doing self-breast exams.
“One of the things we tell women to do is to have breast self-awareness, to learn how to do breast exams,” said Dr. Garant. “What a lot of women will express to me is their fear in checking them and they’re not really sure what they’re feeling for. What I try to tell them is try and become really familiar with their breasts. The way they look and the way they feel.
And here’s what to can look for…
“When you’re looking for changes, you’re looking for dimpling of the skin, retraction perhaps change in the architecture or the way the breast looks,” said Dr. Garant. “Sometimes, you’ll feel a mass, really important if you’re noticing those kinds of changes to let us know.
Dr. Garant said it’s about taking action now as a preventative.
“We know that screening is effective particularly in age groups over 50 years old,” said Dr. Garant. “It’s a really good way to catch cancer early which makes it very treatable and it’s improving our survival rates.”
Burkhalter said she is glad to have made it to this point and hopes for a successful surgery.
“I’m so thankful to be at this point,” said Burkhalter. “It’ll be a year since I had my mastectomy, this Thursday on the 20th. So, it’s kind of an anniversary week for me and I am much better than I was. I still have a longer road to recovery fully, but I am very thankful to be at this point.”
While Dr. Garant recommends women get mammograms around age 40, it is based on personal preference.