Maria Velez, a South Florida woman who survived breast cancer, is encouraging women to learn their personal risk and lean on family and friends during treatment. WSVN 7News profiled Velez in a report published Oct. 8.
Velez had been watching her health closely because her sisters were previously diagnosed with the disease. A mammogram in 2022 showed she had also developed breast cancer. She said that, given her family history, the news was not entirely shocking, though she never expected it to happen to her. She underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
Velez has worked 17 years as an ultrasound technician. She said fear of the unknown was her biggest challenge. Her treatment overlapped with the expected birth of her first grandchild, and she said her family helped her through her hardest days. Complications from treatment later forced her to give up her work as a sonographer, which she called a difficult loss.
Afterward, Velez joined the American Cancer Society’s fundraising walk as a team captain at the request of her medical oncologist, Dr. Alejandra Perez. Perez said nearly everyone knows someone affected by the disease, and she pointed to major gains in survival. She said five-year survival for breast cancer has risen from roughly 60 to 65 percent 20 to 25 years ago to more than 90 percent today.
Doctors stressed early detection and prompt treatment. The American Cancer Society offers free transportation, lodging during treatment and support resources through its website.
“When we say it takes a village, it does,” Perez said.
Dr. Perez’s message is simple: know your lifetime risk.
