A Loving Wife and Mother
- Late actress Kelly Preston, wife of John Travolta, and loving mother of three children, died one year ago at just 57 years old from metastatic breast cancer.
- Preston decided to keep her two-year battle with the disease private, so it came as such a tragic shock when Travolta took to his Instagram to announce the sad news of his beloved wife.
- For women who haven’t gone through menopause, it’s important to get a mammogram every yearor sooner depending on your family historyaccording to a leading expert.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer,” he wrote. “She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many.”
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The Pulp Fiction star apologized in advance for his absence, as he would be taking care of his children who just lost their mother. “But please know that I will feel your outpouring of love in the weeks and months ahead as we heal,” he added.
Preston is survived by daughter Elle, 21, and son Benjamin, who is just 10 years old. In 2009, the couple tragically lost their firstborn son Jett, who had autism. He had a seizure and hit his head at their home in the Bahamas.
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Getting Screened for Breast Cancer
It is unclear what type of breast cancer that Preston had, and the family never disclosed more details after her death. But the number one way to find a potential tumor and treat it early is by mammography, which uses X-rays to find tumors in the breast. Survival rates are high when caught early, depending on the type of cancer and typically whether or not it has spread to the lymph nodes.
Dr. Connie Lehman, a professor at Harvard Medical School and director of the breast imaging clinic at Mass General Hospital in Boston, tells SurvivorNet that if you haven’t gone through menopause, it’s very important to get a mammogram every year.
“We know that cancers grow more rapidly in our younger patients, and having that annual mammogram can be lifesaving,” Dr. Lehman says. “After menopause, it may be perfectly acceptable to reduce that frequency to every two years.”
She is most concerned about the women who haven’t been in for a mammogram in two, three, or four years, or those who have never had one. “We all agree regular screening mammography saves lives,” she urges. “Every doctor that I know, every organization that I know really encourages women to have a mammogram. I want to be completely clear. Please get a mammogram.”
When Should I Get a Mammogram?
Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatments To Consider
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