Doctors at MedStar Washington Hospital Center say they’re seeing more women with late-stage breast cancer because they’re skipping yearly screenings.
"It was January when I was supposed to go and get my mammogram and, you know, just busy,” Videra Washington said. “You just put stuff off to the side."
That decision could have been a fatal one because there was a tumor growing inside her breast.
"A lot of women, we forget to take care of ourselves because we're always taking care of someone else," Washington said.
Doctors say they're seeing a lot of women skipping mammograms even though they have health insurance.
MedStar oncologist Dr. Elmer Huerta says about 97 percent of women who go in with advanced stage 3 or 4 breast cancer have health insurance.
That alarming trend prompted a study in D.C.’s Ward 5, the neighborhood surrounding the hospital. It also has the highest breast cancer mortality rate in the city.
Neta Vaught is one of MedStar's patient navigators, and as part of the study, she walks around the ward talking to women about mammograms.
"I've spoken with some women who say that it just hurts or I just don't want to know," Vaught said.
Vaught asks them if they've had their annual screening, and for those who haven't, she asks why. Fear is the most common excuse.
"Being afraid can cost you your life," she said.
Washington knows she's lucky she found her tumor on her own before it was too advanced. She had a double mastectomy and chemotherapy, and for now, she's clear of cancer. She hopes other woman will take her advice.
"Overcome that fear, because you have a life,” she said. “It's your life and you can't let fear cheat you of that."
