"I found it but I didn't have health care. I felt it but I didn't have health care."
For a year....Nicola Johnson lived with a lump in her breast.
"I didn't immediately think it was cancer, but the way that it felt to me concerned me."
Johnson had reason to be concerned.....when she finally got medical help...she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.
The help came from Dr. Stacey Garrett-Ray and the Baltimore City Cancer program.
"We provide free breast and cervical cancer screenings, treatment and diagnostic services as well as support services."
"I think I might not be here. I think I might not be alive because I wouldn't have gotten help."
The Baltimore City Cancer programs message come through loud and clear in a video called Strategies for Health After Breast Cancer: A survivorship guide for African American women.
It's a joint project by the University of Maryland school of Medicine, and the Sisters Network....a survivorship organization for African American women.
The video which has testimonials....group discussions, and interviews with medical experts was funded by Susan G. Komen for the cure.
"We're providing information about strategies on how to take care of yourself if you are an African American breast cancer survivor."
"I had a plan…no...no....no."
"We have a higher mortality. A higher death rate , our survival rate is a lot lower......There is a major disparity in terms of breast cancer and African American women and we need to make sure that we close that gap."
Dr. Garrett-Ray hopes the video will make a difference in other lives...just as the cancer program has.
Nicola Johnson says its a message of empowerment.
"You still gotta watch yourself. You still gotta check. Just because it's done that doesn't mean you go home and live your life and act like it never existed. It can come back.
