‘Mammo to Answers' to expedite cancer diagnoses

Jennifer Martinez and Julie Gustafson each had to wait more than three months from mammogram to biopsy to confirm they had breast cancer.

“I felt like the wait lasted a lifetime,” said Martinez, a native of Rome, New York who moved to Las Cruces in 2007. “I trusted my team of doctors, but I still wondered if other women had to go through as long of a wait.”

“It was the most difficult three-and-a-half months of my life,” said Gustafson, a physical therapist and Las Cruces native. “I felt like I lost a little bit of myself in that time.”

SenoBright HD contrast-enhanced spectral mammography has been in use at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces since 2023.

Thanks to a new program coming to Memorial Medical Center later this year, that wait – which has been even longer for some local women – can be reduced to just 21 days.

The Mammo to Answers expedited diagnostic program is a partnership between MMC and Cancer Warriors, the Las Cruces organization founded in 2023 by seven women, including Gustafson and Las Cruces business owner and community activist Marci Dickerson, to fight women’s cancers.

Dickerson is a breast cancer survivor who wants all women to have the same access to a speedy breast-cancer diagnosis she had.

It took only two weeks from mammogram to biopsy for Dickerson to confirm she had breast cancer in 2022 and begin treatment. When she learned the gap is often 3.5-4.5 months for other local women, Dickerson said she knew something had to be done to “streamline this process and give these women results (in a way that was) much faster, easier and less stressful.”

Through Mammo to Answers, MMC will hold a block of diagnostic appointments open to expedite the process for women enrolled in the program, Dickerson said.

“We look for this program to be officially available in Doña Ana County and surrounding counties by Dec. 1,” she said.

“I first saw Marci bald at an NMSU Aggie baseball game,” Martinez said. “She had on a baseball cap but you could tell she didn't have hair. I knew she was going through cancer treatment and I thought she was brave to not wear a wig, and she was brave to not hide the fact she was going through treatment. I do commend her for … helping other women to not have to endure a long duration of waiting. She could just go on with her life after cancer, but she is pausing her busy life to listen to other women and be their voice. I won't place blame anywhere, in my situation, but if there were a way to know more quickly I would want to know.”

“I don’t think people talk about it enough,” said Gustafson, whose grandmother also had breast cancer. “We don’t talk about our private parts.”

As a medical professional – she’s been a PT for 24 years – Gustafson knows how to advocate for herself. But she still doesn’t understand “what the holdup was” before she finally got a breast cancer diagnosis and could begin treatment, which took another two months to schedule.

“What are these people doing who don’t have a clue what happens next?” she said.

Although information was available on radiation treatment, which she did not have, Gustafson said there was nothing provided on breast cancer surgery or on local resources available to help women find supplies and services they need, like drain slings, wigs and hair coverings or a chemo facial.

For that reason, when Gustafson and Dickerson – who had been classmates at Las Cruces High School –and the other founding board members created Cancer Warriors, Gustafson insisted that a resource guide be part of it. The guide includes a list of community resources, the personal stories of Gustafson, Dickerson and others in their cancer journeys and information about what to do if you are diagnosed with cancer. Also provided are “warrior boxes” filled with gift cards and useful items for dealing with chemotherapy, surgery and radiation treatment.

Mammo to Answers “could also make major financial sense depending on insurance and timing for meeting minimum requirements and out-of-pocket max,” Martinez said, adding that it could help ease stress and fear.

“I worried over the course of holidays – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s. That's a lot of family gatherings to hear ‘Do you know anything yet?’” Martinez said. “That is a lot of time spent wondering if a tumor is growing and spreading. It is terrible to have to think those things, and it is even worse to have to think those things for a long period of time.”

“You’re just waiting,” Dickerson said. “You expect the worst.”

Gustafson said she was prepared for the cancer diagnosis when it came in 2022, but her husband was not.

“I thought he was going to pass out,” she said.

Gustafson said she downplayed the diagnosis with her two teenaged sons, one of whom was preparing to leave for college.

“He worried being gone,” she said. “I told him, if something was wrong, I would be very honest with him.”

He came home every weekend that first year, Gustafson said.

With her younger son, who was still living at home, she said, “We talked about it a lot. We poked fun at it. I’m an open book with it,” said Gustafson, who started a blog to track her progress and help others know they aren’t alone.

“I decided to be in control,” Gustafson said, even hosting a head-shaving party to raise money for Cancer Warriors.

Both Martinez and Gustafson had their breast cancers first detected during routine mammograms.

“Do a self-exam and get a mammogram if you are of age, or if your doctor recommends,” said Martinez, who had her last radiation treatment Oct. 9. “I have more treatment to go through, and I have had what I feel are amazing doctors and care,” she said. “You are not alone. Don't be afraid. Technology is amazing! And ask a lot of questions.”

Gustafson said age 40 is when women are recommended to begin having routine mammograms, but “more and more women under age 40 are being diagnosed,” she said, emphasizing the importance of examinations. “Don’t put them off.”

Gustafson finished chemotherapy a year ago and is now looking at options for breast reconstruction, she said. “There is no known cancer in my body,” Gustafson said, but she will continue regular checkups with her oncologist for several more years.

Having Mammo to Answers “will help give women peace of mind,” Gustafson said, knowing “there is a process – ‘Here is how it works.’ It’s a step forward in Las Cruces health care. I don’t want anyone to go through what I did and have that long a delay.”