VA BEACH — For the very first time, the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office is doing something a little different in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
It's a small pop of color that Sergeant Mindy Lemieszek and deputy Rosales wear proudly. Both of them are employees of the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office, but the two women have more than a place of work in common.
"When my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, there was no warning sign, it was just a routine mammogram," explains Deputy Heather Rosales.
“For my family, it actually came as a surprise I don't think we have any history of breast cancer in our family," explains Sergeant Mindy Lemieszek.
Lemieszek says her aunt Angela Davis endured breast cancer not once, but three times and fought a really hard fight. But it 2017 that battle ended the life of the mother of four. After her death, Lemieszec says another tragedy followed.
“Within a couple of months of my aunt's death, her husband, my uncle passed away too. Her two older children could support themselves but unfortunately, her two younger kids then had to go live with a family friend," explains Lemeiszek.
This year the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office made the decision to incorporate the color pink into their patches and badges in support of breast cancer awareness. In Virginia the American Cancer Society reported that 7600 cases of breast cancer have been diagnosed this year. Of that number, 1,150 patients have died. Deputy Rosales says she's fearful of being a statistic.
"I'm thirty years old I’ve started getting mammograms just to be on top of it because I don’t want to be another number for the CDC or the American Cancer Society," explains Society.
Rosales says she doesn't have a choice but to be diligent because her mom's early diagnosis in 2019 uncovered a few more family secrets.
"It was like a snowball effect from there it was her diagnosis, then her sister, then her aunt...their grandmother,” she explains.
Fortunately, Rosales says her mother beat cancer and miraculously so did her other female family members who were diagnosed with breast cancer.
"And that’s why I stress people go get your mammograms early because if she had not caught it could have developed into something much worse," says Rosales.
"I’m just hopeful that one day there will be a cure because I don’t want anybody to lose a family member like we did. It's painful," adds Lemieszek.
Until there is a cure, both Lemieszek and Rosales agree that the best defense is an annual trip to the doctor.
