After years of work in the healthcare field, Maria McCullen is not one to skip a mammogram. She has always faithfully kept her annual appointment – even during the pandemic, when a lot of people were putting off routine medical care. But it was a couple of months after a clear mammogram last year that the 46-year old started to notice signs of trouble. “I just didn’t feel right,” she said. “I was feeling nauseated, a little dizzy sometimes, just not myself at all.” One night, while bathing after a long day of work, she noticed some swelling and pain under her arm. Knowing what that could mean, she got to the doctor as soon as she could. An ultrasound found some irregularities in her lymph nodes, and she was referred for a biopsy to have a closer look. By then, McCullen was already familiar with the Cape Fear Valley Cancer Treatment & CyberKnife Center. She’d been to their Breast Care Center before, to investigate lumps that turned out to be harmless. After this biopsy, she waited for a call. “Whenever I had the benign lumps, it would be the nurse calling me to say everything was fine,” she said. “So, when the doctor called me this time, and asked me to come in, I knew it wasn’t good.” Her instincts were right: It was cancer. “It hits hard,” she said. “You think the worst, like what’s going to happen now?” She describes the next several months as a whirlwind, which she has narrated along with her husband on their YouTube channel, “Kickin It Wit Ree & Fee.” With the help of her treatment team at Cape Fear Valley, McCullen has soldiered on through more than a dozen rounds of chemotherapy and a surgery. After a series of radiation treatments this fall, she expects to get the all-clear. “I’ll have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving,” she said. McCullen said she’s glad her cancer was caught early, so it could be successfully treated before it spread. “You have to listen to your body,” she said. “It will tell you when something’s not right. People may think you’re being dramatic, and tell you not to worry, but it’s easy to get checked and you’re better safe than sorry.” While McCullen’s breast cancer was first found by chance, most are discovered through a deliberate self-examination or a mammogram. Last year, as the pandemic disrupted plans of all kinds, mammograms and other cancer screenings fell by more than 30 percent. The result will likely be cancers that were missed in their earliest stages and may be much more severe by the time treatment can begin. If you are one of the thousands of people whose annual mammogram got lost in the chaos of the pandemic, now is a great time to get back on track. Call your doctor for an appointment, or call (910) 615-5116.