Monthly self-exam helped her detect a fast-growing cancer

It is a date Tara Cook will never forget. On July 29, 2022, the 51-year-old Conway resident learned she had breast cancer. Cook had completed her annual mammogram in January 2022 and received the all-clear. However, during her monthly self-breast exam in April, she noticed something unusual. “This was a hard knot that wasn’t sore,” says Cook. “It didn’t hurt or anything, so I called and made an appointment at Tidelands Health Breast Center for the week after school got out because I’m a schoolteacher.” Tidelands Health Breast Center is part of the Tidelands Health Cancer Care Network, the region’s most advanced provider of cancer care and a member of the MUSC Hollings Cancer Network. Over the years, Cook was accustomed to feeling some cysts during her self-exams, but this lump felt different. All women ages 20 and older should conduct regular monthly breast exams. According to the American Breast...