Mammo-why: Longtime employee urges women to put their health first

Eva Davis is a familiar face around Cox Barton County Hospital, as she has worked at the hospital for 28 years. Unfortunately, she is also no stranger to breast cancer.

Nine years ago, the administrative office coordinator in the Medical Staff office found a lump under her arm – even though there wasn’t a history of breast cancer in her family,

“I spoke to an ER physician about what I had found and she urged me to get a screening mammogram,” she said. “After the screening I had an ultrasound and a breast biopsy—the results came back that I had Stage 3 breast cancer.”

Eva opted to have a double mastectomy and went through eight months of chemotherapy. Today, she visits her oncologist annually to ensure things are OK.

“I want to encourage all women to follow the guidelines and get a mammogram, even if they do not have a family history of breast cancer,” she said. “Go with your gut feeling if you think something is wrong—get it checked out immediately.”

Eva admits to “not always putting herself first” and recommends all women to take time for themselves, especially when it comes to their health.

“Life gets busy, but take the time once a year to get a screening mammogram—it could save your life,” she said.

CoxHealth recommends that women age 40 and older have a mammogram annually. For more information or to schedule a mammogram, call 417-681-5161 (Lamar), 417-269-LADY (Springfield), 417-348-8313 (Branson) and 417-354-1138 (Monett).