As can happen, time got away from Debbie Cochran.

Until four years ago, Debbie had gotten annual mammograms every year since turning 40. She had gone through a divorce and gotten really busy at work. There just never seemed to be good time to make an appointment, even after discovering something suspicious while performing breast self-examination.

In May 2022, “I went to the clinic for a sinus infection, and the nurse practitioner scheduled my mammogram at the local hospital,” says Debbie, who lives in Hamilton, Alabama, and works as a staff accountant for a mortgage company. “Things were busy that day and I was going to cancel that appointment too, but my coworker talked me out of it.”

After the mammogram detected the suspicious spot, Debbie had a breast ultrasound. Her test results were sent to Dr. Keri Merschman at Hamilton Primary Care Center, who referred her to North Mississippi Medical Center’s Breast Care Center in Tupelo for a biopsy.

Just before Debbie turned 59, “I was diagnosed with Stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma that had spread to my lymph nodes,” she says. “My faith plays a big role, so I prayed about what to do next.”

Dr. Merschman referred Debbie to surgeon Dr. Danny Sanders of the NMMC Breast and General Surgery Clinic. “He was awesome,” Debbie says. “When you first hear ‘breast cancer,’ you think ‘well, take them off,’ but Dr. Sanders encouraged me to consider my options.”

Instead of a mastectomy (breast removal), Debbie chose to have a breast-reduction lumpectomy. “When a lumpectomy is performed on only one breast, it can reduce its size and alter its shape,” Dr. Sanders explains. “A bilateral breast reduction solves this problem by altering the size and shape of the other breast as well—making both breasts more symmetrical.”

Dr. Sanders performed this procedure alongside plastic surgeon Dr. Benjamin Googe of North Mississippi Plastic Surgery. Debbie went home from the hospital the same day.

She had four weeks of radiation therapy, during which she worked part-time. “I’d work in the morning, then drive to Tupelo for radiation treatment in the afternoon,” Debbie says. “Then, I’d go home and rest. I know that a lot of people have it much worse than I did, and I’m grateful. I just never doubted that I would make it through this. I knew that God had me.”

When it comes to cancer care, people often think bigger is better—but Debbie begs to differ. After researching other facilities, she found that NMMC in Tupelo holds identical accreditations and offers the same services as the larger hospitals. “That’s why I chose NMMC for my care and here, everyone treats me like family. It’s not something you want to have to deal with, but my care team made it so easy,” she says. “My doctors answered every question I ever had.”

And as for procrastinating, “Don’t put it off. Make taking care of your health your top priority,” Debbie says. “Your job will always be there. It wasn’t that I couldn’t go for my mammogram, I just didn’t. I thought what I found would go away, but it didn’t. If you find something, go to the doctor.”