Editor's Note: A recent published story on women not needing mammograms until their 50s has received a lot of attention lately. The following is a letter regarding the published report.

I ask of all you women, as soon as you turn 40, to please get your mammograms. Don't wait. Don't go just every other year. Don't wait until you're 50.

I went back six months after my last mammogram, as of Aug. 6, 2009, (date of my bilateral mastectomy), my surgeon feels I am cancer free. But like all cancer patients, I won't get the clean bill for five years.

When performing pre-tests, the doctors found cancer only on the left side, but after removing both (we chose to do this because of a strong family history), they also found it in the right breast. God placed in our hearts what we were to do. We listened. Yes, I have scars but I can live with that. I would not have been able to live with the breasts ... not that ones I had.

Please get your mammograms. Don't let it go. Don't let it get to the point where the insurance companies decide to follow these guidelines. Love yourself enough, and love your family and friends enough to give them and yourself this priceless gift.

God loves you. He will be with you every step of the way.

LaDonna Reed