Early Detection Saves Lives

Shirley's Story

I’m so thankful for every experience now. Early detection absolutely saved my life.

-Shirley Martin

Shirley Martin was in the middle of Mardi Gras in New Orleans in 2022 when she received a call following a routine mammogram.

“When you get that kind of call, you know it’s probably not going to be good.”

She returned the call immediately, and the news was what she feared—likely cancer.

“Like many other women, I skipped my annual physical and mammogram in 2021 because of the pandemic,” Shirley shared in June 2024. “I finally went to see Dr. Bouvier at the Mammoth Women’s Clinic on Valentine’s Day 2022, and she insisted I schedule my mammogram right away. Thankfully, I was able to get in at Mammoth Hospital the very next day.”

The hospital’s 3D tomosynthesis machine detected a stage one mass in Shirley’s right breast, and a biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. She underwent a mastectomy in July 2022 and is now cancer-free.

In spring 2024, Shirley traveled to Italy and Greece with her son and daughter. “I don’t want to call it the trip of a lifetime because I still have a lot of lifetime left,” she said. “But it was incredible. I’m so grateful for every experience now. Early detection absolutely saved my life.”