DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Ignorance isn't bliss, at least not for Mary Wikoff Moore.
"No one knows you as well as you," she said. "I know when something is different. I know when something is not the same."
Most people have an idea of their family health history — Mary doesn't. She was adopted as a kid. With no family history to draw on, she wanted to check for signs something was off any chance she got.
"It's what we want — to be healthy," Wikoff Moore said.
Eventually, something was off. A 2017 mammogram turned up some concerning spots. In 2018, doctors diagnosed her with breast cancer. Wikoff Moore sought treatment at HSHS St. Mary's Cancer Care Center in Decatur.
"I cannot imagine the inner strength it takes to deal with all of these cancer stories that come to them," she said choking back a few tears. "They celebrate as hard as you do when things go well."
Thankfully, things did go well. Wikoff Moore was cancer free by May 2019, due in part to doctors catching it so early. That's exactly why she wants everyone to hear her message: screening is easy and relatively painless, so why wait?
"I'd rather have a mammogram than go through the house in the middle of the night in my bare feet and step on a Tonka truck," she said. "Believe me, that's going to hurt more."
