Dr. Nancy Cappello, champion of Connecticut legislation that has become a model for other states.
The law requires that women with “dense breasts” be told about it so they can opt for an ultrasound or MRI, which would be paid for by insurers. Tumors in dense breasts can go undetected by mammography. Forty-percent of women have dense breasts; they carry an increased risk of breast cancer, even more than having two first-degree relatives — a mother and a sister — with breast cancer.
Nancy, who grew up Catholic and now worships in an Assembly of God church, drew strength from her spirituality when, nine years ago, shortly after having had two “normal” mammograms, she was diagnosed with late-stage breast-cancer.
In our interview, Nancy mentions some favorite music, snippets of which punctuate the show:
Gregorian chant (from the CD Eternal Chant: An Overview of Gregorian Chant); a version of the song “Count Your Blessings,” by Amy Grant ; and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing at President Obama’s Second Inaugural.
Here are links to Nancy’s websites, http://www.areyoudense.org and http://www.areyoudenseadvocacy.org.