RENTON, Wash. — A mother and daughter from Renton say early detection is key in their fight against breast cancer. And while it wasn't enacted in time to help them, a new Washington law helps cover some breast imaging.
Mid-October is when everything changed for Yolanda Murguia: Her first mammogram led to the last thing she expected.
"When she told me that they had found cancer that is when I was like, oh my,” said Yolanda’s daughter, Erika Cedillo.
She instantly worried about her mom battling stage one breast cancer.
"Then in my head I thought about myself,” said Cedillo.
She says she thought about what she had not told anyone. In September, she had found a lump in her breast.
"It is kind of those situations where you don't want to face it yet. I am 37. I don't want to think that something is going on with me. So, I kind of just put it off,” said Cedillo.
She knew she couldn't wait any longer. About a week after her mom's diagnosis, she got one of her own.
"Stage two cancer,” said Cedillo. “I cried because I wasn't really wanting it to be cancer. I wanted it to be something else."
Now Cedillo and her mom make weekly visits to the hospital. It has been daunting - physically and financially, they said.
"It is not cheap to have cancer,” said Cedillo.
Senator Lynda Wilson is a survivor who understands. In Washington state alone, more than 7,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, she said.
"I discovered the lump myself in one of my own self checks,” Wilson said last year during the legislative session in Olympia.
Sen. Wilson sponsored a bill aimed at saving lives though early breast cancer detection. It passed and went into effect last month. Now, in most cases, patients no longer have to pay out of pocket for medically necessary breast imaging exams. The law covers follow-up breast imaging after an abnormal screening exam or if a lump is detected.
"Delaying or avoiding these tests because of costs can be detrimental to a women's health as it could result in late-stage diagnosis,” said Wilson.
Erika Cedillo gives credit to her mom for getting a mammogram.
"I think that the fact that she went in and made me think about what was going on with me saved my life,” said Cedillo.
The mother and daughter are now leaning on each other as they take on cancer together. A community fundraiser aims to help them pay the costs insurance doesn’t cover.
“I am a woman of faith, and I get my strength from my faith,” said Murguia. "I hope that we get healthier, and we can surpass all of this."
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