Several months into her “dream job,” Steamboat Springs educator Kristen Atwood got a call from her younger sister sharing some bad news.

Her sister was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 36, with no known family history of breast or related cancers.

“I was sick for her,” Atwood said. “She’s healthy; she runs every day, is vibrant and full of energy. To get that phone call, it was hard.”

As the shocking news of her sister’s diagnosis was sinking in, someone asked Atwood when her own last mammogram breast screening had occurred.

“I thought it had been two years, and then I realized it had been three years,” said Atwood, who was going through some personal and family changes and had not prioritized her own health screenings. With dense breast tissue, Atwood had started routine mammograms in her late 30s, but now her screening was past due.

“I put everybody else first, my kids, my work, working a number of jobs, my house,” said the single mom. “Making my appointment wasn’t my priority.”

When she soon went for screening, her diagnosis was stage 1 breast cancer at age 49.

“I thought I was incredibly healthy; I never would have thought that I had a toxic tumor growing in my body,” Atwood said.

Dr. Malaika Thompson, breast radiologist at UCHealth Gloria Gossard Breast Care Center, said having a family member diagnosed with breast cancer sends a strong message that “knowledge is power, as it gives people the ability to take better care of themselves.”

“Having a family member receive a breast cancer diagnosis is very unfortunate but should empower patients to use the information to make sure they are doing everything they can to protect their own health,” Thompson said. “The specific details of a family member’s diagnosis can also help guide additional interventions, like genetic testing and the potential need for supplemental screening with ultrasound or MRI.”

Although Atwood has lived in Steamboat Springs for only seven years, her colleagues, good friends and medical professionals began to surround her with support following her diagnosis.

“They surrounded me with love,” said Atwood, who works as director of Exceptional Student Services for Steamboat Springs School District. “I’m not good at asking for help. I was encouraged or mandated to start asking for help. I suddenly allowed Steamboat into my heart. I’d always heard about how tight the community is and what an amazing community this is when you are in despair.”

Friends and colleagues delivered gifts such as a hand-knitted hat, pink cashmere socks, paintbrushes to encourage her calming hobby of painting, and food and support for her two teenagers.

Colleagues organized a meal train. Atwood was never alone at chemotherapy treatments scheduled across 16 weeks in Steamboat.

“It’s my girlfriends who got me through this,” she said. “I was so sick, so nauseous, had so little energy. They would come and sit with me, make tea, make a meal while I sat at the table and while I painted.”

Although Atwood completed her treatments in June after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, her younger sister on the Front Range is still going through treatment supported by the sisters’ mom, a retired nurse.

The educator encourages women to “hold each other accountable to making, keeping and going to mammogram appointments.” She does not mind being a “walking billboard” to remind other women to get regular mammograms.

“When I looked my worst … looking swollen and unhealthy, bald, no eyelashes, feeling dreary, people would feel bad,” Atwood said. But she told women, “this can be avoided, go get your mammograms.”

“Don’t cancel the appointment,” she said. “You have to take care of yourself first, because without our health, we can’t take care of our community, your children and our students.”

“Early detection is key,” Dr. Thompson said. “The earlier we find a cancer, the more successful and quicker the treatment can be.”