Tests That Could Save a Life

When Sandra was only 16-years-old, her mother died of breast cancer. "When she got sick, it just took the whole life out of the house. Nothing was the same, and none of us were the same," she says. Sandra is now 43 years oldthe same age she says her mother was when she had terminal breast cancerbut she has never had a mammogram. "What I'm doing is completely wrong, and I'm very ignorant. I'm very surprised at myself, but I just don't want to know. I've never been checked and there could be something. What happens if they do find something?"

Sandra's sister Josephine has been urging her to get a mammogram for years. "I send her e-mails. I send her cards. There was a special card they made one yearyou know, to remind someone you love to go and have an exam." But Sandra's fear kept her away from the doctor. "Every year I get that, 'Go get your mammies grammed' or whatever and I just laugh and I delete it. I mean, I don't even do a self-check."

Sandra is now facing her fears and going with Dr. Oz to have her first mammogram. "I'm going. I can't back out now. I'll just see what happens. I'm not going to like itbut I'll go."