Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- In time for this month's Buddy Call, former Early Show anchor Rene Syler stopped by News19 to talk about her experiences with breast cancer.
Syler is a breast cancer survivor who said both her parents suffered from the disease. She says early detection is the best way to prevent the disease from claiming more lives.
Syler said that she herself had a preventive mastectomy after learning that she was diagnosed with the condition before breast cancer.
"The fear of having breast cancer was trumped by the fear of dying," Syler said, "I wanted to live. And the thing that I tell people all the time is, that it's not enough to say, 'I don't want to know,' because what you should really be afraid of not knowing you have breast cancer."
The survivor said women should not be scared to be teste for the disease.
Syler said, "A stage one breast cancer found on a mammogram is 97 percent curable. It is a disease that can be curable when caught early."
Each month on the 19th, News19 urges its viewers to call their buddy to remind them to conduct their montly self exam. Buddy Call 19 is a partnership between News19 and Palmetto Health to encourage women to do a monthly self breast exam. Early detection saves lives, so it's important to do self-exams and have regular mammograms after age 40. To sign up for monthly reminders, go to the News19 Buddy Call Page.