LIBERTY, Mo. — As the longtime manager of Liberty Hospital’s Breast Care Center, Amy Johnston is routinely surrounded by the brightest minds and most advanced medical technology available.

In short, she felt she was somehow insulated from the risks of breast cancer.

“That was exactly my thought, I mean I’m there every day, I had no excuse not to get a mammogram done,” Johnston told FOX4. “I just kept putting it off, putting it off.”

Johnston skipped a year of routine examinations due to the pandemic and a daunting workload. And then, back in August, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I have everybody I need, God has put everybody around me that I need to take care of this,” Johnston said. “It’s going to be a long haul for me, but they’re all right here.”

Although she has long road ahead, Johnston’s prognosis is good.

Dr. Amy Patel, the medical director at the Breast Cancer Center, is a colleague and close friend to Johnston. Dr. Patel says it’s not uncommon for caretakers to ignore their own needs.

“It can be very easy to put every one before you first, and that’s Amy, she always puts everyone before herself,” Patel said. “But we really, now more than ever, need to make wellness, we need to make getting in for your routine screening a priority.”

To make an appointment for a breast cancer screening at Liberty Hospital’s clinic you can call (816) 792-7016.