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Wanda Hanneman

OCCUPATION: Aesthetician for Georgia Institute For Plastic Surgery

AGE: 69

AGE OF DIAGNOSIS: 44 

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HOW DID YOU DISCOVER YOU HAD BREAST CANCER?

My best friend suggested we go have our mammograms together because we didn't get to see each other a lot. So one day we went to lunch and had mammograms done by Dr. Richard Greco. He suspected something, and after having an ultrasound done, cancer was discovered on my left breast. I always thought that if you had breast cancer, you had a lump but mine wasn't like that. It was calcification. 

 

WHAT TREATMENT DID YOU UNDERGO?

 I had a needle biopsy on Oct. 5, 1994. They did the mastectomy. At the time, Dr. Greco had just brought tram-flap reconstructive surgery to Savannah and so I had that done as well. This was such a new thing, I didn't even know we could do it. I've now been cancer-free for 26 years! I go for blood work once a year and kept going by to see Dr. Greco regularly to thank him for what he did for me. Then one day I went by to see him and asked about a job, and I've been working for him now for 13 and a half years. 

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WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE THE NEWLY DIAGNOSED? 

In today's times, its not always a death sentence. Early detection is very, very important. Breast cancer is not a club you ever want to belong to, but if you do it's a very supportive thing. So many women who've had breast cancer before me were supportive of me, if I can help just one person I'm glad to do it. I look back on it now and realize it was all by the grace of God. 

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As a local non-profit, #TurnItPink will use funds raised to empower women, with the ability to make the best decision for themselves, by hosting local events and supporting local and national educational initiatives with BRA - Breast Reconstruction Awareness through The Plastic Surgery Foundation. 

 

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