Connie Meneese was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 after finding a lump during a self exam.
"I had actually performed the self-exam two weeks earlier and felt nothing," Meneese said. "Two weeks later, I felt the lump."
Despite having no family history of cancer, doctors told Meneese she was facing an aggressive form of breast cancer, already in stage two. She had no way of knowing her daughter would soon receive the same devastating news.
"I was breastfeeding and I felt a lump in my breast," said Marsha McDougal, Connie's daughter. "Initially I thought, I had just went to the doctor and she said I had nothing to be concerned with. There’s no way this could be anything serious."
But a biopsy came back positive for the exact same kind of cancer her mother had just begun fighting with chemotherapy.
"When she called and told me I just though how much more, God? How many more tests are you going to put me through?" Connie said. "But then I bounced back and said this means war, we’re going to fight."
Thanks to early detection, both women have been in remission for about one year.
McDougal detailed her personal journey from diagnosis to remission in a video blog, which highlights the importance of self exams and regular mammograms.
"Do your mammograms, do your self breast exams and if you feel something that doesn't feel right, please go get it checked out," McDougal said. "If breast cancer is caught early, you can survive it."
