Breast cancer survivor celebrates a special victory at Making Strides Detroit this weekend

Detroit's Making Strides walk has special meaning for Hope Ambassador

Sandy Harvey says amid her cancer battle she found support from her faith, her pastor husband, her church community, and her medical team.

FOX 2 - If you think back to the days of the pandemic, you may remember skipping a lot of doctor's appointments, especially routine screenings.

The backstory:

The number of mammograms dropped by about 50 percent as hospitals and doctors were focused on emergencies. The impact of missed screenings is still being felt.

A Metro Detroit woman - who is now a breast cancer survivor - says she missed an appointment that may have caused her valuable time.

Sandy Harvey says she was always proactive with her health.

"Starting at the age of 40, the recommendation from the gynocologist - go get my mammogram, I was very faithful and consistent every year," she said. "The pandemic kind of changed things a little bit."

When she did catch up on her mammogram in 2023, the news was grim.

"Essentially my breast cancer doctor said it looked like a firecracker had gone off in my breast. No way to save it," she said.

Sandy was told she had the most common type of breast cancer, invasive ductal carcinoma.

In her case, it was like little cancerous eruptions all through her right breast -  treatment involved chemo, radiation, and surgery.

"Radiation to me was the most difficult - because you have to do it everyday and it zapped all the energy I had," she said.

Sandy wore a special cold cap during chemo to reduce hair loss.

Through it all she found support from her faith, her pastor husband, her church community, and her medical team.

"There's fear, there's uncertainty. I'm a business owner, an entrepreneur," she said. "So I didn't know what to expect, I just take it one day at a time. My faith kept me going."

At the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Sandy has found even more support.

The walk brings thousands together every October for one big cause, ending breast cancer.

Sandy is a Making Strides Portrait of Hope Ambassador. She and her team will be at the Corner Ballpark in Corktown Saturday morning.

This event raises hope and awareness and a lot of money for research and programs for patient care.

FOX 2 will be there live on Saturday morning for the walk, which runs from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. starting at The Corner Ballpark, 1680 Michigan Avenue. 

If you want to learn more, go to: makingstrides.org

Or the specific Detroit event details can be found HERE.

Deena Centofanti and Sandy Harvey