Breast Cancer Awareness Month may have ended, but the disease doesn’t take a break the rest of the year. And detecting it early saves lives, as “Being Mary Jane” co-star Lisa Vidal can attest.
Vidal spoke to the ladies on “The Real” about her diagnosis, and she emphasized the importance of early detection.
The 51-year-old actress was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common form of breast cancer, at a very early stage. “And here’s the thing,” she said. “My mammogram showed nothing. The reason I really wanted to talk about this is not only to share the experience, but to also say early diagnosis is so crucial. And mammograms don’t always find it.
“Nothing against mammograms, but the ultrasound is what kinda saved my life because they found it so early. Mammograms are like a snowstorm and you’re trying to find the snowflake. And you don’t see it until it’s much worse. That’s why I really want to advocate for women to get ultrasounds and early detection.”
New cases of breast cancer among Latinas is lower than black and white women, but Latinas tend to be diagnosed at a later stage of the disease. And breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in this population. Experts believe this may be because of lower screening mammography rates and delays in follow-up after an abnormal mammogram.
See more of Lisa Vidal on “The Real.”
