TYLER — Breast cancer can be fatal especially for African-American women.
"Just like our favorite pair of go to shoes will eventually wear out we all know these earthly bodies will only last us for a brief while," said Amber Cook, M.D. UT Health East Texas Physicians North Tyler.
UT Health East Texas Pin-A-Sister hosted a breast health summit today to raise awareness for early detection.
"Breast cancer, which will affect 1 in 8 women in their lifetime at an earlier stage and that's the key is when we can detect it early the survival rates are better, the treatment options are more vast we have opportunities to do even less aggressive treatments," said Brandon Ashton, M.D. UT Health Tyler Breast Care Center.
Health care professionals spoke to the women about ways to detect cancer.
"I have a recommendation for you here and it's the same recommendation that comes from the UT Health East Texas Breast Care Center, The Society of Imaging, The American College of Radiology, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and that is that every woman starting at age 40 should receive a screening mammogram every year," Ashton said.
Breast cancer survivors also shared their stories.
"That's like the scariest time I mean I can't even tell you what is going through your mind you’re worried, you’re scared, you want to know right now. You want to stop worrying about it because you can't think of anything else," said Gina Coleman, breast cancer survivor.
More than 100 ladies were in attendance for the event.
"There's been a lot of research that has gone into understanding exactly what tests make the most sense, what vaccinations, what blood work will help us to understand how to keep those bodies in good shape," Cook said.
More than 8,000 African-American women in Smith county were pinned and made the pledge to receive annual mammograms.