Bringing Breast Cancer Awareness to Light

"I might just cancel the mammogram,” Jessica Littlefield told her husband before her October 2024 appointment. With no family history of the disease, the mother of two preschoolers was not expecting a breast cancer diagnosis.

Jessica had been having pain in her right breast for a couple of weeks when she went to AdventHealth Medical Group OB/GYN at Curtis Parkway to have it checked out.

Finding Answers for Breast Pain

“I’ve had cysts before, so I thought it could be something like that,” Jessica said. “I wasn't thinking it could be breast cancer.”

A physical exam didn’t detect anything of concern, like a knot. Still, her provider ordered a mammogram at the Edna Owens Breast Center at AdventHealth Gordon for a more thorough assessment.

Jessica, then 32, had no family history of cancer and was younger than 40, the age at which women at average risk for breast cancer are encouraged to start screening annually for the disease.

Jessica considered canceling the mammogram because of her nerves, but friends and family encouraged her to keep the appointment. When she arrived at the breast center in October 2024 for the mammogram, she declined the complimentary breast cancer awareness t-shirt offered to her.

“I thought, ‘If I take this, I’m somewhat accepting a diagnosis,’” she said.

She said the staff at the center, an American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, made her feel comfortable and she took comfort in a scripture passage on the waiting room wall.

“Then they came to me in the waiting room and said they needed to do an ultrasound because I had dense breast tissue,” she said.

The doctor reviewing the images also recommended a biopsy.

“That’s when I was like, ‘Something’s up,’” she said. A few days later, it was confirmed that she had cancer.

Advanced Treatment and Compassionate Support

Under the care of Mayur Mody, MD, a fellowship-trained and board-certified oncologist at AdventHealth Medical Group Hematology Oncology at Calhoun, Jessica's treatment included six rounds of chemotherapy, 18 immunotherapy infusions and a double mastectomy, followed by surgery to reconstruct her breasts.

While the clusters of tumors were contained to her right breast, she opted to remove both breasts for peace of mind.

“If it came back in the other breast, I would have to do this all over again, and I didn’t want to have to do anything again,” she said.

Jessica is grateful that the nurse practitioner ordered the mammogram and that she kept the appointment.

“If not, I would still be walking around clueless,” she said. “We were able to catch an early-stage and not a late-stage breast cancer.”

Health experts agree that mammography is one of the best ways to detect breast cancers early, often before patients have symptoms, when treatments are more effective, increasing the chances of survival.

“I’ve seen so many young women since I’ve been in this club I didn’t sign up for … who have this diagnosis, and I feel getting a mammogram is so important to catching it early,” Jessica said.

In addition to mammography, the Edna Owens Breast Center offers breast ultrasound, MRI, CT and PET scans, biopsy care and bone density scans.

Jessica also took advantage of genetic screening and nutrition counseling available to cancer patients there.

“Oftentimes you have to look for and seek out these services, but at AdventHealth, they come around and just check in, and I really thought that was great,” she said.

Her breast care nurse navigator also connected Jessica to cancer support groups and the center’s Beautiful You program, which provides support by nurturing the body, mind and spirit of the women undergoing cancer treatment.

“I wanted to connect with people who are going through a hard time, but who are uplifting and can share with each other,” Jessica said. “That community is joy-filled, and it helps make the walk lighter.”

Jessica said the care she received at the center was personal and compassionate, with her cancer care team going beyond expectations throughout her treatment and recovery.

“I would highly recommend their facility and their doctors and nurses,” she said.

She even went back to the center following her diagnosis to get the shirt she had previously declined.

“That was kind of a full circle moment, even though I didn’t really want that full circle,” she said.

Shine a Light on Breast Cancer Awareness

Today, Jessica said she is feeling like herself again, and she’ll be lighting up her porch in pink this October as part of AdventHealth’s Pink Porch campaign to raise awareness about the importance of getting an annual mammogram.

“You can’t see too far in the future when you’re going through it,” she said. “Now that I’ve gone through it, things are OK, and every step of the way, I know God is right here.”

For more information on lighting your porch pink, where to pick up a pink bulb or to schedule a mammogram, please visit PinkPorchGA.com.