Edinburg- “My first thought was… ‘Oh my gosh, is this thing going to kill me?’ ”
On May 8th , 2010, UTRGV Professor Maryann Escamilla was diagnosed with breast cancer. She went through four terrifying months of chemotherapy before finally beating the disease. Escamilla’s first symptoms were difficult to understand and even misread by doctors. Before her diagnosis, Escamilla felt as if her hands and feet were on fire. However, when she brought this up to her first oncologist, he doubted her and suggested she should go home.
“I did not go home. I went to a different oncologist in the same building and I’ve been with him for this whole time,” said Escamilla.
Diagnosis is a critical first step. The problem is, that both men and women misunderstand symptoms associated with breast cancer.
There are also many myths surrounding the disease that can cause people to go without treatment. To help educate viewers, I spoke with Dr. Terese Bevers, medical director of prevention center from MD Anderson’s Cancer Center.
Click on the video below to watch the full story.
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