A while ago, Wanda e-mailed me to tell me about her teammate, and SHEro, Sue, who was keeping up with plans to walk in the Seattle 3-Day despite being diagnosed with breast cancer about two months into training.

She had originally signed up to honor her grandma and her daughter. Grandma died in December 2003 about two months after being diagnosed with Stave IV breast cancer. Her daughter, Justine, displayed a pink ribbon on her car after that and died herself (not of breast cancer) in March 2007.

I haven't heard how the Seattle walk went for Sue, but I see on her fundraising page that she raised $4,650, exceeding her goal of $4,600. (Yay!) She also offers another reason to keep up with annual mammograms:

It had been almost two years since my last mammogram so I made an appointment. Today after a followup mammogram (magnified) and a biopsy it was determined that I have Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

Ductal carcinoma in situ is a pre-cancerous condition in which abnormal cells are confined to the milk ducts in the breast. Most noninvasive breast cancers are DCIS—according to the American Cancer Society, of the in situ breast cancers diagnosed from 2000-2004, 80% were DCIS.

Many women diagnosed at this early stage of breast cancer can be cured by removing the tissue that contains the tumor. IF LEFT UNTREATED, DCIS can become invasive. Because DCIS typically has no physical signs or symptoms, it is usually detected by a screening mammogram. So...Get your annual mammogram TODAY.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure recommends annual mammograms starting at age 40 for those without any increased risk factors for breast cancer. Get more info here.

(Have a motivational or inspirational breast cancer story to share? E-mail me at jillianduch@hotmail.com)