Breast cancer survivor uses medical journey to help underserved and uninsured women in Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- You may see a lot of pink this month at ABC13 and around the country because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's the most cancer in American women after skin cancers and a disease that's hit a lot of our families personally, including our own Erica Simon's.

In July 2019, Lyndsay Levingston was caught completely off guard and discovered a lump in her right breast.

"I took action immediately and scheduled a well-woman exam. And it was during that well-woman exam that I had my very first mammogram at the age of 37. Subsequently, I had a 3D mammogram, breast ultrasound, and a biopsy, which confirmed the lump that I discovered through a self-breast exam was cancerous," she explained.

The following 15 months were a whirlwind. Levingston, a former TV news anchor, had Stage 2B Triple Negative Breast Cancer -- the most aggressive subtype that affects Black women at a higher rate. She had 15 rounds of chemo, a bilateral breast Mastectomy, breast reconstruction, and had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed -- since she carried a mutation that put her at higher risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

"My life changed tremendously, but I survived," she said.

Indeed, she did, and from her medical journey, she birthed the non-profit SurviveHER, which helps provide resources and mammograms for underserved and uninsured women in Houston.

On Thursday, SurviveHER hosted its third-annual soiree at Momentum BMW, where ABC13's Erica Simon was the host. It was a team effort all the way around.

"My mom survived it twice. Early detection was key. So for me, I try to get behind every breast cancer awareness group that I can to give it my full attention. Without early detection, my mom would not have survived it two times," Momentum BMW General Manager Tommy Kuranoff said.

Breast Cancer doesn't discriminate and can hit anyone at any time. It hit Simon's mom, who first discovered a lump when she was 40. Thankfully, she only had to have a lumpectomy and radiation treatment because she trusted her gut to have it removed and got it early. Her grandmother was also diagnosed when she was 75.

Both are now cancer-free.

Despite what she went through, Levingston felt that the call on her life to share her story and now help others was too loud not to answer.

"I actually consider it my ministry because we're saving lives. We're helping women, and we're connecting them to the resources that they need," Levingston said.

If you would like to connect with Levingston's group, visit SurviveHER's website.

For more on this story, follow Erica Simon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.