{"id":353,"date":"2015-10-14T10:10:18","date_gmt":"2015-10-14T14:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toh.masm.ca\/en\/?p=353"},"modified":"2021-02-17T11:48:35","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T16:48:35","slug":"mammography-technologist-survived-cancer-twice-due-to-regular-mammograms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/uncategorized\/mammography-technologist-survived-cancer-twice-due-to-regular-mammograms\/","title":{"rendered":"Mammography technologist survived cancer twice due to regular mammograms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wendy Nicholson, a mammography technologist at The Ottawa Hospital, was diagnosed with breast cancer 12 years ago after a routine mammogram pointed out the need for follow-up tests.<\/em><\/p>\n

The irony hasn\u2019t escaped her \u2013 a mammography technologist who developed breast cancer. Fortunately, Wendy Nicholson practised what she preached \u2013 her cancer was caught early and treated because she had regular mammograms starting at age 40.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was seen on the mammogram as a few tiny white specks,\u201d Nicholson recalled. \u201cI never would have felt this until it had got much larger and formed a lump.\u201d<\/p>\n

A mammogram is a special X-ray picture of the breast. Doctors can detect any changes that have occurred, even those too small for the average person to feel or see.<\/p>\n

Nicholson has worked in the diagnostic imaging field for over 40 years and has specialized in breast imaging for the past 20 years, performing mammograms, breast ultrasounds and breast biopsies at The Ottawa Hospital in the Women\u2019s Breast Health Centre and the Ontario Breast Screening Centre on Carling Avenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy professional knowledge did help me decide to have my lymph nodes removed and a mastectomy of my right breast,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt was important to me to have peace of mind that all the cancer was removed \u2013 that\u2019s why I had the mastectomy. My type of cancer was not aggressive but was spread around the breast.\u201d<\/p>\n

She credits regular follow-up mammograms and biopsies for identifying other cancers in her remaining breast, which was also removed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey saved my life, twice,\u201d she said. \u201cRegular screening is so important. You can\u2019t just come and have one mammogram. It\u2019s the repeated, regular screening that allows radiologists to compare and see what has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The advanced diagnostic tests available today, such as ultrasound, MRI and tomosynthesis, are not only finding cancers early but also allowing for less-extensive treatments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to tell my story to get this point across to women: \u2018Come on! You\u2019ve got to come out and get screened!\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cI survived cancer twice due to regular follow-up screening and mammograms. I now have seven grandchildren and I\u2019m here to love them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cancer Care Ontario and The Ottawa Hospital\u2019s Cancer Program encourage women aged 50 or older to take five minutes right now to book a free mammogram. Call the local Ontario Breast Screening Program at 613-728-0777 or call 1-800-668-9304.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy experience with my own cancer allows me to provide my clients a personal perspective about breast cancer and its prevention,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to know your own breasts and watch for any changes, both by touch and visually. Any change is worth a discussion with your doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wendy Nicholson, a mammography technologist at The Ottawa Hospital, was diagnosed with breast cancer 12 years ago after a routine mammogram pointed out the need for follow-up tests. The irony hasn\u2019t escaped her \u2013 a mammography technologist who developed breast cancer. Fortunately, Wendy Nicholson practised what she preached \u2013 her cancer was caught early and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}