McLaren Oakland offers free breast cancer screenings for area residents

By Emily Caswell
Brand Manager
CLARKSTON — Each year in the United States about 240,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women, according the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In early 2023 long-time Clarkston resident Vicki Wigand was one of those cases.
Although she has no history of breast cancer in her family, Vicki, 78, has always been diligent in getting her annual health screenings, including 3D mammograms. As she has for years, she went to her appointment, not expecting anything out of the ordinary.
“I absolutely had no indication that there was a problem when I went in for my yearly screening 3D mammogram at McLaren Breast Center in January 2023,” said Vicki.
The day after her test, however, Vicki received a call that further testing with an ultrasound would be needed. She wasn’t alarmed as she’d had that follow-up test before. The team, including Dr. Kristin Booth, a radiologist with McLaren Oakland, Clarkston and Lapeer, didn’t like what the ultrasound showed and asked if Vicki would be okay with a biopsy. The procedure was simple, but unfortunately revealed that Vicki did have cancer.
“After all of the tests and biopsy were done my diagnosis was invasive ductal carcinoma consistent with malignancy (breast cancer),” said Vicki. “I was referred to Dr. Marisa O’Neill, who has been wonderful, at McLaren. Surgery was recommended to remove the mass and some lymph nodes.”
Following surgery Vicki was required to do radiation daily on weekdays for four weeks.
Dr. O’Neill, breast surgeon at McLaren Clarkston, credits Vicki’s dedication to routine screenings to her relatively easy treatment plan.
“This was a particularly aggressive form of cancer, but we were aided by her dedication to maintaining her regular screenings and catching the cancer at an early stage. Her commitment to screenings, even being outside the recommended guidelines, allowed us to take a proactive approach in her care plan before the cancer advanced and potentially spread,” said O’Neill. “We are all living longer, and women should continue their regular screenings should they expect to live at least for another 10 years, and Vicki is a great example of this.”
Vicki said her care team at McLaren was the best, and she’s thankful for their dedication.
“I feel very fortunate to have a wonderful team of doctors and staff,” said Vicki. “They were all patient, kind and helpful throughout my treatment, follow-up appointments, and helped to make a difficult ‘scary’ situation much less stressful. I know going forward they will continue to watch me very closely, and I appreciate knowing I am in good hands.”
Vicki is also thankful to her friends and family for their support.
“I’m grateful to have had a lot of support, prayers and caring from many friends, neighbors and family, especially my husband, two sons and two grandsons,” she said. “It would have been so much more difficult without all the encouragement and love. I am blessed that my cancer was caught early, my treatment went well, and I am feeling great.”
Vicki will continue to attend all follow-up screenings and is hopeful that with her good health returning she and her husband can get back to traveling. She said while they love to travel in the U.S., a return trip to Italy would be amazing. Vicki will also happily continue to share her story to encourage others to attend their routine screenings and doctors’ appointments.
“I always encourage friends, neighbors and family to please get their routine mammograms,” said Vicki. “Breast cancer caught early, along with the miracles of modern medicine, is treatable!”