By Hannah Gulics
When Amanda Marchant turned 40 in 2025, she did what millions of women do every year: she scheduled her first mammogram.
With no family history, lump, pain or other symptoms, she assumed the callback from Broward Health Imperial Point for an ultrasound was due to dense breast tissue, a common and usually benign finding. After further imaging, a nurse called to confirm that Marchant had stage 3B, hormone receptor-negative breast cancer.
“I remember calling my husband and crying for about 20 minutes. Then I hung up, prayed about it and never cried again,” Marchant said. “I decided that I was not going to let cancer get me down and do whatever I needed to do to be there for my children.”
What began as a routine step in her preventative care had potentially saved her life.
“Amanda’s case is exactly why we recommend annual mammograms starting at 40,” said Shannon Keating, D.O., a hematologist-oncologist with the Broward Health Physician Group. “This was caught through standard screening, before she ever felt anything wrong.”
Marchant completed six rounds of chemotherapy, followed by a tissue-reserving lumpectomy and the removal of two lymph nodes at Broward Health Medical Center. She continues immunotherapy infusions every three weeks.
Despite the challenges and side effects of treatment, Marchant continued working while raising her four sons and keeping up with their extracurriculars.
“I’m a mom, I’m a wife, I work. I don’t have time to have cancer,” Marchant said. “After I got diagnosed, someone told me that cancer is primarily a mind game. So, that was my mentality: keep pushing forward.”
Now 41, Marchant encourages other women not to delay screening.
“As moms, we’re always putting everyone else first and it can be easy to put our own health on the back burner,” Marchant said. “If I can help at least one woman considering delaying their screenings, every vulnerable part of telling my story is worth it.”
Marchant’s story is a reminder that even women who feel completely healthy can have breast cancer, and why staying current with recommended screenings matters.
For more information about Broward Health’s cancer services, visit
BrowardHealth.org/BeatCancer.