News|Articles|October 10, 2025

Survivorship and the Power of Community in Breast Cancer Awareness

Author(s)Ryan Scott
Fact checked by: Spencer Feldman
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Key Takeaways

  • Jennie Smythe stresses the critical role of self-advocacy and early detection in breast cancer management, sharing her personal journey as a testament.
  • Regular mammograms, despite being inconvenient, are essential for timely detection and expanding treatment options.
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Jennie Smythe continues the conversation following her initial discussion on early detection self-advocacy during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

With Breast Cancer Awareness Month in full swing this October, CURE continues its conversation with breast cancer survivor and mother Jennie Smythe, following her initial discussion on early detection and advocating for your health.

Diagnosed at 41 while raising two young children, Smythe now serves as an Advocacy Ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, using her platform to elevate patient voices and advance breast cancer research and policy. In this second part of our interview, she shares her perspective on the power of community, the impact of events like the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, and how experiences of survivorship can inspire connection and advocacy.

CURE: Breast Cancer Awareness Month highlights the importance of early detection. Based on your own experience, what would you tell women about listening to their bodies when seeking care?

Smythe: The point of you being your own advocate in your health journey is a theme that every single human being on the planet Earth needs to hear, but especially my women folk, who put everybody ahead of you and your own health. I was the exact case. At 40, I went and said, “Okay, I know I'm 40 years old. I need to get this mammogram done.” And I remember being irritated, like, “Oh, I gotta do this. This is so dumb,” you know, like all of those things. I had it at 40; it was fine. At 41, I was on the phone with my girlfriend. She was in the car, and I said, “What are you doing?” She said, “Oh, I just got back from getting a mammogram, and I have to go back to get an ultrasound.” And I said, “Oh, is that normal?” And she kind of said, “Well, you know, I have dense breasts, and so I have to do all this stuff.”

What happened after that conversation with your friend?

After I got off the phone with her, I realized that my doctor's office had sent me a reminder that I needed to schedule my mammogram, and I was late. My birthday was in March; this was November. But because I had had a mammogram, and I didn't at the time know that I didn't have the gene, and it doesn't run in my family, I kind of put it on the back burner. But there was something about that conversation with my friend, and I was like, “You know what, I'm going to call my doctor.” So, I got off the phone with her, called my doctor, and it just so happened they had an opening, a cancellation, and they were like, “How'd you like to come in tomorrow?” And I was like, “I'll be there.”

I showed up, had my laptop, and was once again kind of irritated that I had to do this because it just seemed so unimportant, and it was an inconvenience. It wasn't unimportant; it was an inconvenience. And so, I moved a couple of work meetings around or whatever, and I had a two-year-old son, so it was like moving daycare and all of that. I showed up, took the mammogram, and instantly, they were like, “You got to come back for an ultrasound.” And even then, I was like, “Okay. That's fine,” because I just talked to my friend. I was prepared that because I had dense breasts, that that might be an option, not panicked at all. Once again, my schedule was being inconvenienced. I can't remember. I want to say it was just a day, maybe two, between the mammogram and the ultrasound. I had the ultrasound, and then they found they found cancer. I didn't know it was cancer at the time, but then got scheduled for a biopsy, and sort of went through that.

Lesson being that at 40 nothing showed up on the mammogram. At 41, cancer showed up on the mammogram. And had I waited any further or longer to make that appointment, I wouldn't have had as many treatment options as I had.

My takeaway for every single person who listens to this is, just get the test done. Just get it done, and encourage every woman in your life to get their mammograms.

You’re preparing to walk 60 miles with fellow survivors this November. How do events like the Susan G. Komen 3-Day contribute to awareness, community, and hope for those impacted by breast cancer?

In November, I have talked my friends (I don't know how I talked them into doing this) but we're walking 60 miles in a three-day event for Susan G. Komen in San Diego. It's my second time doing the walk, and the first time was two years ago, so I was fresher off my treatment.

What it is, besides obviously being a very physical experience and a fundraising experience, is that they call it the pink bubble. For three days, you are surrounded by people that know exactly how you feel, and people that you don't even have to talk to, that you can pass on that walk and give a nod, and you know exactly how they feel and what they've been through. You see their families walking in honor of someone who's passed, and families that are also walking in support of survivors.

Most importantly, for me, as a person who was just sort of finishing those first years, where it's not acute anymore, but you're on hormonal treatment, and you're maybe having some symptoms, and you're feeling more and more back into your body: for me, walking and seeing people will have signs on them like how many times they've walked or how many years they're in survivorship. A lot of women who have had recurrence or cancer that has metastasized are there to show that they're still thriving.

It's a thriving community, and so just being around that many people — it is so massive that you just can't help but be fired up that it affected so many of us. So, it's the idea that you can still come together in real life and have that kind of community. It's really, really special.

Reference

  1. Finding Strength and Advocacy During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, by Ryan Scott. CURE; Oct. 1, 2025. https://www.curetoday.com/view/finding-strength-and-advocacy-during-breast-cancer-awareness-month

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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