BALTIMORE — "She makes me come every year. She says come on Sue, it's time for your mammogram, come on in," Susan O'Haire said.
The nudge O'Haire gets from her mammographer is special for a few reasons, not only is her Radiologic Technologist her sister, Debbie Kearney is also a three-time breast cancer survivor.
"She was very strong throughout the whole process, which kept us strong as well. She's an inspiration and she's sort of my hero because she did such a wonderful job going through chemo and radiation," said O'Haire.
"I was 42 the first time. I was 44 the second time and the third time I was 58 and I'm 63-years-old now," said Kearney.
"I've had mastectomies since the third time, and I don't have to worry about it anymore," Kearney added.
But she worries about her patients and that worry drives her passion for care.
She's been a Mammographer for decades.
While Kearney was undergoing her own treatment, she was working at Advanced Radiology, helping others detect the very disease she has survived.
"I really try so hard on every patient to get the best mammogram possible," Kearney explained.
"I know they are nervous when they come in. Most of them are very, very nervous, so I try to just get them at ease from the very beginning and let them know that we are kind and want to get them through it," said Kearney.
Even when the news isn't good and often doing the mammogram, she's the first to see it.
"I see a lot of my friends that live in the community, and it has happened, but I just put on my smile and just try and hold back the tears," said
Kearney says her story is a testament to the fact that mammograms work.
"The importance of coming back every year is so cancer doesn't have a chance to grow," said
"We can't stress enough the importance of early screenings. I wouldn't be here today if I hadn't had my screenings," said
After battling cancer and saving lives for more than 40 years you'd think Kearney would be ready to turn off her machine and call it quits.
"I'm not ready to retire yet and I do love what I do. I feel like I have a sense of purpose here. I feel it was my destiny to be here and to do mammograms," said Kearney.
