Twice diagnosed with breast cancer in the past ten years, Mary Craig has a survivor’s understanding of the disease.

Among the lessons she has learned: the importance of preventative care and of being your own advocate.

“Go to your doctor regularly, get your mammograms and if you have a lump, get it checked out,” said Craig. “You have to listen to your own body. You have to really pay attention and make your own decisions.”

Advances in technology and medicine have greatly improved therapies, but Craig said her experience also taught her the importance of the personal level of care she received at her community hospital.

“I came to Miles (the Miles Campus of LincolnHealth) because I felt that Miles would give me personal services,” said Craig. “I didn’t feel like a number. I felt like a real person.”

Her journey began with an ache in her right side during the summer of 2005. She was 53. The good news was that because Craig listened to her body, doctors caught the cancer early — at stage 1a — but because it was a type of cancer that often spread, Craig decided to have a double mastectomy as a precaution.

Four years later, however, Craig felt a hard area in the same region where cancer had first appeared and called her primary care provider. Her provider saw her that same day and took her immediately to the Miles Campus of LincolnHealth, where she had an ultrasound followed by a mammogram.

The staff at LincolnHealth explained every part of the process and made sure she was seen as quickly as possible at her MaineHealth oncologist’s Portland office.

“They were great advocates. They had an understanding of how I felt, especially because it was the second time around. They were as concerned for me as I was,” said Craig, who was then working for the hospital as a Certified Nursing Assistant and as Unit Secretary of the Intensive Care Unit.

This time, Craig underwent three operations as well as chemotherapy and radiation. It was a difficult period. Craig said the support she received from her family and her co-workers was vital.

A daughter sent her the story of a woman who had survived being diagnosed three times with cancer. She read that book the night before her first surgery and enjoyed her best night’s sleep in weeks.

“I figured that if she could get through it three times, I could get through it twice,” said Craig. “That’s the enthusiasm that you get when you read or hear of somebody else’s success.”

That experience is one reason Craig is happy to share her own story. She wants people to know that a cancer diagnosis doesn’t have to be a death sentence.

“Don’t be afraid and don’t stop living. Don’t waste your time with worry. Live your life and see the good in everything,” said Craig. “Since I was first diagnosed I now have six grandchildren. Life is worth living.”

From Oct. 19 through 21, LincolnHealth is offering digital screening mammograms at a reduced rate. For more information about this special program or mammography services at LincolnHealth, please call 207-563-4496.