“So much of this journey is to advocate for yourself. It's so refreshing to have doctors that are in that fight with you, that you don't have to fight against.”

Kathleen Capetta of Camden, Maine, Breast Cancer Patient

“I had a very vivid dream at the end of July. It was a physical feeling in the dream. And very calmly after, a voice said, ‘You're going to die on your 41^st birthday. I woke up from that dream convinced that something was wrong, that this was my body telling me something.

“I ended up going to the doctor a couple of weeks later. And she said, ‘They just changed the mammogram age from 45 to 40. We'll get you in for your first mammogram. And I got diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I ended up self-referring to Dr. Battelli because I wanted more information that I wasn't I always think second opinions are helpful. I called NECS and within two weeks I got in. They honored that urgency, which was amazing. You need to find THE doctor that's going to save your life. It's really important.

“You know, most doctors, when you tell them that you had a dream that you're going to die—most of them look at you like you're crazy. Dr. Battelli was like, ‘That's great information.’ She didn't dismiss me and this gut feeling that something was wrong. I knew I had found the doctor because she heard me, she listened, she understood where I was coming from.

“You walk into that office and you just feel the passion. You feel the warmth. You feel why people are there—because they care. That is NOT the case at every doctor's office. And so, that culture that they have at NECS is incredible and it is infused into the care they give their patients.

“The team at NECS is just incredible. They are the most amazing humans I've ever met. They are so dedicated to their calling that it's really humbling and awe-inspiring. I view my team there, Amanda and Dr. Battelli, primarily as my allies that are trying to help me fight this fight, but they're also friends."

Learn more about the prevention and detection of breast cancer.