Lisa Vogt has a simple message – get a yearly mammogram. She knows. At age 49, she had a routine mammogram. No lumps were found. But she had calcifications—tiny white dots—on her screening. Lisa had a biopsy, which confirmed it was cancer, DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ). It’s a cancer where abnormal cells are found in the lining of the breast milk duct.
“It’s all kind of surreal now,” Vogt said. “Fortunately, it was stage 0, no chemotherapy or radiation, but I did have a mastectomy. It all happened fast.”
As the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure takes places this weekend in Omaha, Vogt’s story mingles with so many other breast cancer survivors. They gather to raise money and awareness to achieve the Komen goal of helping reduce the current number of breast cancer deaths by 50 percent in the United States by 2026.
According to 2015 statistics from the Nebraska Cancer Registry, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed invasive cancer in the state. Fortunately, breast cancer morality has decreased in Nebraska and nationwide during the past decade.
The most recent screening recommendations from the America Cancer Society advise women age 40 years of age and older to have a mammogram once a year.
When Vogt told her friends about her cancer they were surprised. Many thought you couldn’t have breast cancer without a lump. Now, they are more inclined to get a mammogram because of what she went through.
“You never know, so that’s why it’s so important to stay in tune with your body,” Vogt said. “If something doesn’t feel right, look right, get it checked out. I’m so thankful that I did.”
