COLUMBIA, S.C. — Luella Wallace comes from a big family. She's the ninth girl out of ten, add to that 5 brothers and you have an army of support.
It's exactly what this veteran soldier of 24 years and current JROTC instructor would need when she was diagnosed with breast cancer last July.
At 52 years old, this otherwise healthy mom of twin girls was now battling the same type of breast cancer her older sister was diagnosed with almost a decade ago.
She was confident about her prognosis because that sister beat cancer.
But she was also cautiously optimistic because she'd lost her baby sister to pancreatic cancer less than a year before.
Because of her commitment to having her annual mammogram, the disease was caught early. That meant the treatment wasn't supposed to be invasive or aggressive. However, after her first surgery test results showed that the cancer wasn't removed by the lumpectomy, Wallace made the decision to have a double mastectomy.
Wallace says she is thankful to be cancer free today and looking forward to her future.
Healthcare professionals say the key to saving your life when it comes to breast cancer is an early diagnosis. Talk to your doctor about you family history and the right time for you to start your annual mammogram.