Karen Drury: Early detection is key

Karen Drury was getting her routine mammogram back in 2012 when a mass was found in her left breast.

"When they looked at the film, they saw something that didn't look quite right," Drury says. "They thought we needed to explore it further."

Drury then had an ultrasound, but says that it came back as inconclusive.

"My surgeon then recommended that they remove the lump," she says.

The lump turned out to be breast cancer in the very early stages, Drury says.

"It was a Stage 0, DCIS," she says. "It was non-invasive and confined to a duct. My radiologist commended my surgeon on the decision to remove the lump (when the results came back as inconclusive)."

Southeast Breast Care then recommended 30 rounds of radiation, Drury says.

"I didn't have to do any chemo," she says. "Then, I was put on the drug Tamoxifen, and it was recommended that I stay on that drug for the next three to five years."

Drury has had no recurrence of cancer since her treatment.

"I've been in remission for four years now, going on five," she says. "I just continue to get mammograms regularly, and I have been all clear ever since. At first, I was getting mammograms every six months, but now I'm back to just having them once a year."

Drury, who was 52 when she was diagnosed, says she was having no pain in her breast at the time she was diagnosed.

When asked what helped her through her cancer diagnosis and treatment, Drury mentions several things.

"My faith, first and foremost," Drury says. "And, my friends and family were a huge support system. It also helped that I had confidence in the medical professionals that handled my case."

Drury also points out that knowing someone who is going through the same thing can have a very positive effect.

"One of the most effective things for me was having a lady that I knew who was diagnosed with the exact same thing as I was," she says. "She doesn't live around here, but she was a huge source of support."

Drury is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Professional Associates. She and her husband, Jeff, will have been married for 28 years in December, and they have three sons, Josh, Daniel and Jonathon.

Drury is active in the Lutheran Women's Missionary League and also a strong supporter of the Lutheran Church Charities Comfort Dogs program.