Illuminating the Fight Against Breast Cancer

A routine mammogram did more than detect Kristi Osby’s breast cancer at an early, treatable stage. It also revealed information about her health that helped her care team identify and reduce another serious cancer risk.

Receiving a Breast Cancer Diagnosis

“I just went in for a regular mammogram,” the Chatsworth resident said of the imaging she had done at AdventHealth Murray in September 2025. “I didn’t know anything was going on.”

Kristi, 55, said she expected a clear scan as she’d had with previous annual mammograms.

“Then they called me back and said I needed to go to AdventHealth Gordon because they had a more advanced mammogram machine there,” she said. “They saw something they didn’t really like. I was thinking in my head that it was probably fibroids.”

But Kristi said the diagnostic mammogram at AdventHealth Gordon detected breast cancer in her right breast, which a biopsy later confirmed, and also noted a fibroid in her left breast had increased in size since her previous mammogram. A biopsy of the tissue in the left breast confirmed the presence of pre-cancerous cells, as well.

“I was scared to death because I had just lost my mother two years before to cancer,” she said. “I knew what it did to her.”

While her mother first faced lung cancer, Kristi said it later spread to her breast and bones.

“We dealt with chemo and radiation for three years straight with her,” she said. “She fought a good fight.”

Genetic testing confirmed Kristi had the same type of breast cancer that her mother had. While she didn’t carry the more common gene mutation BRCA, she learned she did carry CHEK2, another inherited gene change that increases the risk of breast cancer.

Kristi’s Treatment at AdventHealth Gordon

Kristi's fellowship-trained and board-certified oncologist, Mayur Mody, MD, recommended a lumpectomy to remove the cancer from her right breast and 27 rounds of radiation. Kristi opted to also have board-certified surgeon William Theus, MD, remove the pre-cancerous cells from her left breast when he did the lumpectomy.

“If it grew down the line, I’d have to have surgery on that too,” she said.

During her treatment, Kristi learned her cancer was likely related to an overproduction of the hormone estrogen, which also increased her risk for developing uterine cancer. So, she decided to have fellowship-trained and board-certified OB/GYN Donald Taylor, MD, remove her uterus and ovaries in a total hysterectomy just four months after her breast surgery to help balance her hormones.

The Importance of Early Detection

Kristi credits the mammogram with not only detecting her breast cancer early but also sparing her from chemotherapy, like her mother had to endure from a late-stage diagnosis.

“This is why everybody should definitely have a mammogram, and I’m so glad they caught it so early,” she said. “I may have had to have chemo, or maybe it would have gone somewhere else.”

Kristi said the care she received at both AdventHealth medical centers was personal, compassionate, comprehensive and notably different than what she was expecting based on her experiences with her mother.

“I wish my mom had a place like AdventHealth,” she said. “They make you feel like family. I broke down on these people so many times, and they handled me great. They didn’t treat me like just some patient. They were very uplifting, very caring.”

Compassionate Cancer Care at AdventHealth

AdventHealth Murray provides breast ultrasounds and 3D mammograms as part of its dedication to providing whole-person care to women at every stage of their lives, while AdventHealth Gordon’s Edna Owens Breast Center is an American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Center of Excellence where women can also receive breast MRI, CT, PET and bone density scans, as well as biopsy care and genetic testing.

Kristi, whose cancer is behind her, said she relied on her co-workers, her faith and her cancer care team to see her through her treatment and recovery.

She said October’s breast cancer awareness month serves as a reminder that the disease doesn’t discriminate.

“Even if you don’t have a family member that’s ever had it, breast cancer could [affect] anybody,” she said. “Any woman. Any age. Any color. It doesn’t matter.”

This year, her participation in AdventHealth’s Pink Porch campaign will carry more meaning when she swaps her regular porch lightbulbs for pink ones as a reminder to women to get their annual mammograms.

“You never know what is underlying,” she said. “You don’t have to have symptoms or feel anything weird. It can be there and you don't know it, and the earlier they catch it, the easier it’s going to be to take care of it.”

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