|
Only have a minute? Listen instead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Consuelo Lopez’s voice trembled when recalling the fear that overcame her upon hearing the words that nobody ever wants to hear: a breast cancer diagnosis.
She spoke Wednesday with tears in her eyes when recalling the harrowing experience that began with a mammogram, a mammogram she never wanted in the first place.
Because although she’d get her annual medical checkup, Consuelo thought she didn’t have reason to schedule a mammogram.
“I didn’t think I was at risk because I don’t come from a family with a history of breast cancer,” the 66-year-old Donna resident said in Spanish.
However, in November 2022, she finally said yes to a mammogram and received results she didn’t expect.
The next month, she got a call from her doctor’s office, WellMed at Weslaco, and was told they had discovered a lump in her breast tissue.
She was then scheduled for a biopsy which later confirmed that the lump was cancerous.
“We stayed in shock,” Consuelo said of the diagnosis.
As luck would have it, she learned of it in time for doctors to detect and diagnose the cancer before it continued to grow, thanks to getting the mammogram.
Due to the cancer being caught in the early stages, doctors were able to easily operate and remove the mass without her having to go through chemotherapy.
In January 2023, she underwent surgery where doctors were able to remove the mass entirely, leaving Consuelo cancer free.
Noemi Lopez, Consuelo’s 45-year-old daughter who is a regional manager of clinic operations at WellMed in Harlingen, never expected she’d one day have to guide her own mother through the scary ordeal she’s helped others navigate.
As she watched her mom go through the process, she recalled the encounters she’s had with patients with similar mindsets as her mom who did not want to go through a mammogram. She looked back at each moment she had encouraged patients to get checked
“When we got the results back then it really hit me because I would see the testimonies from our patients, but for that to occur at such a personal level like my mom it really just reassured me that I’m in the right place,” Noemi said.
She recalled the doctors reassuring her and her mother throughout the therapy and treatment.
“One of the things that we heard a lot in the consultation and doctor’s appointment was, ‘You’re very lucky that you caught it in time. You’re very lucky that you check yourself,’” Noemi said.
She recalled her mom’s strength during that time. Noemi spoke softly as she thought back on that time, remembering moments her mom would hide her struggle, and suspected Consuelo cried herself to sleep on several nights.
“I’m sure she kept all the worries to herself but we could kind of see that regression … she wasn’t as active as she was because of the therapy, but now she is back to herself (and) baking every weekend,” Noemi said of her mother. “You can see that weight lifted off her shoulders.”
Although a scary diagnosis, she believes the experience allowed them to better understand the importance of getting mammogram exams, especially after a mammogram helped save her mom’s life.
“I feel fine now because I am OK now and I can do what I love. I can bake, see my grandkids, see my children,” Consuelo said with a shaky voice. “I feel grateful, for God and the people who opened my eyes to why getting a mammogram was important.”
Consuelo’s journey has been transcendent, from never wanting to get a mammogram to advocating their importance regardless of one’s family medical history or circumstances.
“Cancer has no warning; it develops without warning,” Consuelo said
Noemi stressed similar sentiments.
“I think the experience was not a good experience but now we’re going to be more proactive and ensure that we’re doing our checkups,” she said.
