Early mammogram leads to life-saving discovery for Utah woman and her family

PLEASANT GROVE — When Laura Baxter entered her 40s, she knew that she needed to get a mammogram.

"I'm a big fan of preventive medicine, and it was just time for my first mammogram earlier this year."

Baxter, 41, also has a history of breast cancer in her family and witnessed her grandmothers endure the disease.

"I've seen family members go through that and it can be really, really rough," she said. "I watched my grandma go through it and my great grandma at the same time. They were both going through it, and they had their own mastectomies and the treatment."

So, last March Baxter went in for her very first mammogram, and doctors found that she had ductal carcinoma in situ, which is a non-invasive, stage 0 breast cancer.

"I was like, 'Oh my gosh! I can't believe we caught a stage 0 cancer," she said. "That's unheard of. I didn't even know that was a thing. But thanks to this imaging, we caught it when it was early and small."

Due to her family history, however, Baxter wasn't taking any chances, so she decided to have a double mastectomy.

"I have been married for 21 years, and I always joked with my husband that when it hits me, I was just gonna chop them off and not worry about it," she said.

It was following her surgery to remove her breasts when doctors found more.

"In surgery, there was an additional tumor found, which was a second type of breast cancer called invasive lobular carcinoma," she said. "That one is actually more difficult to detect because the way it grows and the way it forms in your body, it is really hard for people to see on scans."

That second diagnosis moved Baxter to stage 1 cancer, but due to early detection, the cancer was removed.

"There's so much more dignity involved and patient choice and, and I think there's a deeper understanding of women's health, which I really appreciate," she said. "And I wish my grandma would have had that experience. I'm grateful I do, and I hope it improves for my daughter as she gets older, too."

Coupled with a family history of breast cancer and now her own diagnosis, Baxter opted for more genetic testing so that her two children would have that information as they grow older. What she found was that she carries two cancer-causing genes.

"I found out that now I need to be very much aware of pancreatic cancer and ovarian cancer, and the men in my family need to watch out for prostate cancer," she said. "I have the information now to do something about it and to take care of it and to and to and to pay attention to it earlier on."

Baxter said that she realizes that her situation is a "best case scenario," while urging others to also take preventative measures.

"One thing I didn't realize until I was going through this process is that if you have a family history of breast cancer, you should be getting a mammogram 10 years before the youngest person was diagnosed," she said. "So. Because I got diagnosed when I was 41, my family, my sisters and my daughter should start getting scanned when they're 31 to catch things earlier.

"It's not just 'Wait till you're 40,'" she added. "You need to have a little bit more context and awareness of what is right for you. ... "Know your body and notice, and you need to advocate for yourself when you see changes."

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