BRENHAM — Even with all the awareness generated by October’s emphasis on breast cancer, Jennifer Coil had to be talked into getting her mammogram. Four years later, she’s a survivor and part of the force encouraging (and sometimes pleading) with women to be aware.
Jennifer had gone to her husband Lance’s workplace – the HEB Brenham Market – to discuss making a change in insurance. That’s when Yvonne Supak, the facilitator arranging for The Rose to do a day of mammograms in the store’s conference room, encouraged her to take advantage of the opportunity for a screening.
“That little extra effort she put out there made the difference,” Jennifer recounted. “If it hadn’t been for The Rose being at HEB when it was … I had no reason to go in, no symptoms. It was a life-changing, life-saving moment.”
After HEB helped bring the mammogram to Jennifer, it then took The Rose a few calls to get Jennifer to take the next step. The young mother of two girls — Somerlin now 9, and Linleigh, now 6 – who was doing fulltime child care at a local church thought maybe it was nothing and admits she initially “blew it off.”
But The Rose kept calling and finally, she made the appointments and her local doctor shared the news that changed her life. Lance was by her side through treatment and recovery and now she says cancer has been transformed from a dire diagnosis to an opportunity for her to an encouragement to others.
Now working part-time, Jennifer sees not so much what cancer took from her but what it has given her – an appreciation for what she has and a mission to help others.
“My family is so much closer. My girls will have a whole new outlook on life because I can instill appreciation in them.
“And when I hear ‘my insurance won’t cover’, ‘I’m not old enough’ from the women I talk to about getting a mammogram, I tell them, ‘Make it happen. Talk to your insurance. Tell your doctor. You have to stand up for yourself.’”
Women will have that opportunity on October 24 when HEB Brenham Market, 2508 South Day Street, once again hosts a day of mammograms – 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Screenings are by appointment only. To register online, go to www.TheRose.org/services/mobilemammogaphy. Click on the “Click here” button, indicate your preferred language, and then use the code HEB to complete the registration process.
Stephanie Wehring, The Rose’s Rural Outreach Manager, is available to answer questions at 979.203.0610.
To schedule a day of screenings at your corporation or small business, email [email protected].
The Rose is a nonprofit breast health care organization with two centers and a mobile fleet, serving more than 35,000 women annually. The Rose Galleria is located at 5420 West Loop South, Suite 3300. The Rose Southeast is at 12700 N. Featherwood. For more information on the mobile program visit www.TheRose.org.
