Angela Russell-Comer has had a mammogram almost every year since she was 27 years old. “That’s when my OB/GYN found a benign lump in my breast during a wellness exam,” explains Angela. “I’ve been diligent ever since.”

So, this past December, Angela went to Macon Community Hospital for her annual exam. It uncovered some abnormalities. Angela followed up with an ultrasound that revealed she had a 2-centimeter (about 3/4 of an inch) tumor in her left breast.

“Fortunately, we caught it early,” says Angela, a nurse who has worked at Macon Community Hospital for 19 years.

Throughout Angela’s treatment, Dr. Hanna Ilia, a board-certified family medicine physician with Macon Community Hospital, was her guide and support. “Dr. Ilia is wonderful physician,” Angela says. “He would come by to see me at work, and I’ve seen him do that with other patients as well.” Angela also has regular follow-ups with Dr. Thomas Taylor, a board-certified general surgeon with Macon Community Hospital who performed her mastectomy as well as placed her port-a-cath for chemotherapy. “My entire care team was just phenomenal!”

Today, after a mastectomy and chemotherapy, Angela is cancer-free! “I will still have to take an oral drug for the next five years because my type of cancer has a high rate of recurrence. I want to encourage every woman to have an annual wellness exam. It could be the difference between life and death.”