The story of your breast health has you at the center. Regular mammograms can catch breast cancer early, at its most treatable stage. Most women should start annual screenings at age 40. If you’re under 40 years old but have a family history of breast cancer, talk to your primary care provider about when to start screening. Visit edith.sanfordhealth.org to learn more.
Meet Michelle The day before her annual mammogram, Michelle Buffalo Knuppe gave herself a quick self-exam and felt something unusual. The next day at her appointment, she was immediately rescheduled for a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound, where providers discovered the lumps were cancer.
“After my surgery, he let me stay in the hospital an extra day,” she said. “There was no rushing. They just let me heal.” Now, Buffalo Knuppe has been cancer-free for two and a half years. She still takes an ongoing medication but can mostly reflect on cancer as part of her past.
Her first thought was, “Why me?”
Buffalo Knuppe is a healthy person. She eats well, runs daily, limits her alcohol consumption and has no family history of the disease. And while these factors can lower the risk of breast cancer, they don’t eliminate it. Quickly, she found herself in a whirlwind of information, appointments and procedures. Luckily, she had a care team ready to guide her through every step of treatment and recovery. “I loved having a nurse navigator,” she said. “I could message her with every little question.” Buffalo Knuppe’s surgeon, Jesse Dirksen, MD, also played a critical role in her care.
She’s back to daily runs with her yellow lab, Bella, and offers this advice to anyone facing a breast cancer diagnosis:
“ Trust your
feelings, trust your doctors and trust the process.”
246-630-959 8/26
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