Jeannie Blaylock, First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Ezorine Jones has been following Buddy Check "from the beginning." That means for the past 25 years she's been faithful to the idea of reminding her Buddy, her sister, and being aware of self-exams.
In fact, she stuck our Buddy Check reminder card on her refrigerator. It was up there for 11 years. She says, "Buddy Check saved my life."
That's because she kept doing self-exams enough to keep track of what was in her breasts. One day she found a lump, she says, that felt firm like a Craisin, sort of a dried cranberry. It was different. Something she hadn't felt before...
Turns out she had caught triple-negative breast cancer in time to spare her a huge scare or possibly even worse. Triple-negative breast cancer is an especially aggressive form of cancer.
Oncologist Dr. Cynthia Anderson at Baptist/MD Anderson points to Ezorine's mammogram. She says it's obvious how close Ezorine's breast cancer was to her lymph nodes. She says once the cancer gets into the lymph nodes, it can spread around the body and kill. But Dr. Anderson says Ezorine had the "perfect" timing to stop the threat in time.
Ezorine likes to share her story now. Her diagnosis was in 2009. She's 53 now and as vivacious and spirited as ever.
Baptist/MD Anderson and First Coast News are Buddy Check partners. If you would like a Buddy Check kit with the reminder cards, just call 904-202-CARE. The kit will be mailed to you at no charge.
Meanwhile, every 12th -- Buddy Check Day -- remind someone you care about to get a mammogram and do that self-exam.
If Buddy Check has helped you, please email Jeannie Blaylock -- jblaylock@firstcoastnews.com