R&B singer Shanice appeared on the show, Good Morning America wherein she shared her diagnosis of breast cancer and her journey so far. She says that more than 10 years ago, the doctors found a cancerous lump in her breast, however, it turned out to be a cyst. She then avoided mammograms for the next 8 years and when she finally had one, it turned out to be breast cancer.

According to a report in People, Shanice was in her mid-40s when doctors told her that a cancerous lump was found in her breast. Further testing found that the lump was a cyst and she required no additional testing. Still, the health scare kept her away from mammograms for nearly a decade. Shanice, now 51, speaking at the show said, “Because of the fear that I had when they thought they saw something, I didn't go for eight years.”

After 8 years of skipping her routine mammograms, Shanice decided to get screened in March after feeling a lump in her breast. It was then that she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The doctors said that she had an early form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which is a non-invasive, stage zero cancer trapped inside the milk ducts. Following this, Shanice decided to get a double mastectomy surgery in May. It was at this time, that doctors discovered that she actually had a stage 1, one-centimetre tumour in her breast.

She said, “When I had my surgery and they told me I had cancer, I literally lost my smile. But I wanted to come on the show to encourage women that you have to keep smiling. I got my smile back.”

Shanice shared about her double mastectomy on Instagram in September when she was “strong enough to talk about it.” She told GMA that she decided to share her story to encourage other women to get their annual mammograms even if they’re nervous.

She added, “I just want to tell women how important it is to get your mammograms," she told the outlet. If I would have gone sooner, I could have caught [my breast cancer diagnosis] when it was just at stage zero.”

Mammograms can find lumps or tumours before they’re large enough to feel. Detecting cancer at this early stage gives you time for quick and simple treatments. Also, the treatment results are better.

When breast cancer is diagnosed early, it can be treated with smaller surgeries or mild radiation, rather than more intense treatments like full breast removal or chemotherapy, which are usually needed for later stages.

Cancers caught early tend to be smaller and at a point when they haven’t spread to other parts of the body, so treatments work better and there’s less chance of cancer returning.

Mammograms can detect very small calcium spots, known as microcalcifications which can signal early cancer changes. These are too small to be felt but can show up on a mammogram.

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