Lehman Employee's Connection to Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Jennifer Entler is not only a valued Lehman Volvo Cars
employee of 18 years, but she is also a Breast Cancer Survivor. As many
of us know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, but to Jennifer every
month is a chance to spread awareness of this terrible disease that affects so
many loved ones. She is a huge advocate for mammograms and believes that early
detection saves lives. Spreading the word about the importance of routine
mammograms is Jennifer's goal. Read her story below.
Help Lehman Volvo Cars "drive-out" breast cancer
this month! For every new car sold in the month of October, Lehman Volvo Cars
will make a donation to the PA Breast Cancer Coalition.
My Journey to Breast Cancer Free
By: Jennifer Entler
In April of 2014, I was diagnosed with breast cancer after
my very first Mammogram. I was just shy of my 41st birthday and I thought it
was time to go and have that “dreaded” test taken care of. I am sure glad I did
it. After five mammograms, one biopsy, one MRI, one MRI Assisted biopsy and an
ultra sound, DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ) was found in my left breast and
was removed. I had 8 weeks of radiation after surgery to further insure the
cancer would not come back.
Currently my prognosis is excellent. After a scare last June
which required another biopsy that came back clear, I am still following up
with a course of Tamoxifen for the next 2 years. I most recently had Genetic
testing done to make sure I was not the “Red Flag” in my family. Breast Cancer
can be passed down genetically so I wanted to be sure my family members were
safe. Those tests, thankfully, came back negative.
I have become a HUGE advocate for mammograms. Despite what
other organizations have published, I am a firm believer that early detection
saves lives. It saved mine and both of my breasts. Had I not gone and had my
mammogram when I did, my prognosis would have been drastically different.
I am active with a local support group and I love those
ladies. Most of them have been subjected to much more than I due to their type
of breast cancer, but we all share similar emotions, fears, experiences and
expectations. They keep me strong enough to fight for those who have lost their
battles and to keep fighting for others.
1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I
AM, simply 1 of 8. I cannot stress enough how important mammograms are.
Just imagine how many women could be saved by early detection! I am
living proof that early detection is a key to fighting this disease that affects
so many of our loved ones.
The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition is my local charity
of choice. The PBCC is THE source of action and information for women in
Pennsylvania with breast cancer. Through their outreach and education programs,
their legislative victories, and their vast patient resources, they are “one
stop shopping” for both the newly-diagnosed and the long-term survivor. They
joyfully send out “Friends Like Me” Care Packages free of charge to patients
who have been recently diagnosed. I myself have been a recipient of this
care package and it had lots of resources and goodies inside to make anyone’s
beginning breast cancer journey a little more emotionally manageable. 90%
of all donations to the PBCC go toward programs providing breast cancer
education and outreach including: Friends Like Me™, the PBCC Breast Cancer Research Initiative, the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition Annual Conference, and
their traveling photo exhibit 67 Women - 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania™.
Please help them with their mission of finding a cure now…so our daughters
won’t have to.
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