Lynn Boyd was on the floor doing tummy crunches. It was May 12th, 2016.
That’s significant because the 12th of every month is Buddy Check Day, the day when First Coast News anchor Jeannie Blaylock deliberately pesters women to do their self-exams.
Lynn says she heard Jeannie say, “Ladies, it’s Buddy Check 12 Day.” She reached up to her breast and-- near her nipple-- she felt a lump.
It was hard as a marble.
Lynn says just talking about it, “still gives me chills.”
The lump turned out to be stage 1 triple negative breast cancer, an especially mean type known to spread aggressively.
Lynn believes Buddy Check saved her life because she had never done a self-exam before.
Why not? She says her breasts had lots of lumps and she figured she would never be able to find anything.
However, she says, her lump was obviously different than all the other lumps in her breast.
Now Lynn is doing great. Her six-month check showed no worries. She
Lynn works at FIS, a major financial services company with an office building in Riverside.
FIS has stepped up to help raise money for the Buddy Bus, a mobile mammography unit that will serve six local counties.
FIS employees worked to raise $1700 to buy the Buddy Bus.
One FIS employee, Katie Thompson, says a mammogram enabled her to detect her breast cancer early. She supports the Buddy Bus mission, especially because women get so busy they put off making mammogram appointments.
First Coast News and Baptist/MD Anderson are partners in the Buddy Bus project.
A million dollars is needed to purchase the mobile unit.
So far donations total $434,000.
Can you help organize a fundraiser at your company? If so, email Jeannie Blaylock. Her email is: jblaylock@firstcoastnews.com
To give a tax-deductible donation to help us buy the Buddy Bus, click here.