9:53 AM, May 19, 2013
Seventy two hours after Elissa Bantug's mastectomy, she felt broken. She was only 25 years old, but she had lost both breasts and her strawberry blond hair to cancer. Drainage tubes still hung from her chest to remove excess fluid from the operation.
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About Buddy Check 12
Everyone knows if you detect breast cancer early, your odds of beating it are better than 90 percent so it makes sense to do self exams. Over a decade ago, First Coast News' Jeannie Blaylock partnered with Baptist Health to create Buddy Check 12 -- designed to promote monthly breast self-examinations and to educate women on the importance of early detection. Watch Jeannie's Buddy Check 12 reports every 12th of the month on First Coast News and remind a buddy to self-check for breast cancer.
Call for a Buddy Check 12 Kit
Call (904)202-CARE to our partner, Baptist Health, and we'll mail you the Buddy Check 12 kits with stickers for free.
Buddy Check 12 E-Mail Reminders
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Buddy Check 12 Text Alert Reminders
Buddy Check 12 Stories & Survivors
8:46 PM, May 11, 2013
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, breast implants do not cause a problem for mothers hoping to breastfeed their children.
2:47 PM, May 11, 2013
We're learning more about the possible health benefits of a drug that's likely in your medicine cabinet.
2:00 PM, May 11, 2013
Studies have shown that physical activity can reduce a woman's risk of breast cancer.
7:10 PM, May 7, 2013
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Come have your fun picture taken at the new Buddy Check Photo Booth! It's a higher tech version of the photo booths we grew up laughing in and posing with our friends. It's easy to use. You can also get a free refrigerator magnet photo frame.
6:53 PM, Apr 12, 2013
Lisa Crites, a former TV health reporter in Florida, said the day she
had to shower in a trash bag after breast cancer surgery was
"degrading." So she's invented something to help other women.
6:29 PM, Apr 12, 2013
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- First Coast News Buddy Check partner Baptist Health has received a grant from the NFL's "Crucial Catch" program to offer free mammograms.
10:43 PM, Mar 12, 2013
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- We encourage women to check. We tell people over and over to get their mammograms and also doctors' checks. All that's important. But that's not how Jacksonville attorney Barbara Cocciolo found her breast cancer.
8:51 PM, Mar 12, 2013
FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. -- Give her an A+. A student at Fleming Island High is our Buddy Check reporter for a special look at high school teachers and senior women tackling breast cancer.
9:27 PM, Feb 12, 2013
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- She's a true success. Peppy, compassionate, loyal to teaching, a mom, a wife and now a Buddy Check 12 success story! Katrina Rock at Bayview Elementary did her check on the 12 and caught her own breast cancer.
2:33 PM, Feb 4, 2013
When Barb Nelson dove in as a volunteer last fall for Austin's annual "Paint the Town Pink" fundraiser, she could never have predicted how relevant the event would be when it finally rolled around.
11:08 AM, Jan 16, 2013
New research in the Journal of Radiology says that patients should ask for both 2D and 3D mammogram screenings to increase the possibility of detection.
7:00 PM, Dec 13, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Buddy Check 12 kits are now available for free in
Braille, large print and electronic versions. So if you're visually
impaired or you have an aunt, say in New York, who's elderly and can't
see small print any more, you can give her the life-saving kit.
4:09 PM, Dec 13, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- "Hooray!" for feeling pretty during
chemo! We love your wig, Cherie! Cherie is our new Buddy Check 12
success story.
5:10 PM, Nov 13, 2012
We were pioneers in talking about breast self exams.
8:57 PM, Oct 27, 2012
On Saturday, volunteers with Baptist Health and First Coast News teamed up with 15 local churches to help save lives through teaching about Buddy Check and getting registering women who qualify for free mammograms. It's all part of Ladies Breast Health Awareness Day.
5:57 PM, Oct 26, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The chance of beating breast cancer increases significantly if caught early. Early breast cancer usually causes no pain and may cause no symptoms at all.
10:35 PM, Oct 16, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Want a behind the scenes look at First Coast News?
Here's a glance at 20 years ago to our breast cancer efforts.
4:12 PM, Oct 16, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Julie Foster stopped by FCN to pick up her new
Nexus tablet today and has already written us a thank you note for it.
Thank you Julie!
8:51 PM, Oct 6, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Pink balloons and pink banners littered the ballrooms on the second floor at Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront Saturday for the Pink Ribbon Symposium.
11:56 AM, Oct 3, 2012
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Cindy Chaconas of St. Augustine Beach remembers
when she was diagnosed with breast cancer just a few years ago.
12:14 PM, Sep 27, 2012
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Buddy Check 12 is celebrating 20 years of saving lives through early breast cancer detection via monthly breast self-examinations.