Two Charlotte Cancer Survivors Urge Women To Get Mammograms After Pandemic Delays

After skipping routine screenings during COVID-19, two Charlotte women discovered they had cancer. Their candid stories sparked a chain reaction, pushing others to catch the disease early.

Amy Hyland Jones skipped screenings for three years until 2020. "I was busy and working really hard and thinking I have no family history and this is not going to be what is going to get me, and that was not smart," she told WCNC.

Just as the world shut down for the pandemic, doctors found Stage 3 cancer in Jones's breast. She had spotted warning signs during a self-check in December 2019, which pushed her to seek medical help.

For Meg Robertson, the news struck twice: tests showed cancer in both breasts after she missed her yearly check-up. When she spoke up about it, another woman got screened and found cancer early enough to treat it.

Breast cancer strikes one in eight women, making it the second most widespread cancer after skin cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Each year brings more cases.

Now cancer-free, both women push others to get checked. "If you can have one person go in and get that screening and learn something that's gonna change the course of their life, that's why I do this," Jones said.

Medical experts say women should start yearly breast scans at 40. Those with risk factors, such as the BRCA gene, need to start at 30.

Robertson sees purpose in sharing what happened to her. "Maybe it was worth it, it helped her, so maybe it was worth it. It just makes the not-so-fun parts of it a little more palatable," she said.

The ripple effect of Jones's story saved lives. In August 2020, her friend's sister heard about it, got checked, and caught her cancer. Both survivors stress that regular screening catches problems before they grow worse.