Local breast cancer survivor urges annual mammograms

     It’s no small wonder why Cindy Wittmer is a strong advocate for yearly mammogram screenings.

     “I’m a big poster child for having your annual mammogram, because it caught my cancer early. There was no lump or anything,” she said. “It saved my life. I’ve always said that.”

     Wittmer was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2005 following a routine mammogram at Franklin General Hospital (FGH). Doctors discovered an aggressive form of the disease in her left breast, but it wasn’t all bad news. She was given great odds at survival after the screening caught the cancer in its earliest stage of development.

     The news was still scary and unexpected. A previous breast cancer screening had determined that Wittmer was at low risk for the disease, but she knew why she was getting called back into Dr. Harsha Jayawardena’s office that fateful Wednesday morning in 2005.

     Read the full article in the October 22 edition of the Hampton Chronicle.