Woman was chatting with her usual cashier during checkout — one unexpected suggestion ended up saving her life
Sometimes, accepting reasonable advice from people can turn out to be really helpful. However, one customer at Cash Wise hadn't expected her conversation with a friendly cashier to save her life. The woman, Pam Thorson, was making a usual grocery store trip. She stopped to talk with the cashier, Elvira Gentry, at the cash register. Eventually, they got to talking about mammograms and Pam decided to take Elvira's advice and get one. It led to a life-changing diagnosis for the customer, per InForum.
Pam had been a regular customer at the store and always looked forward to talking to Elvira. So she was talking to the cashier at checkout one day when things changed for her. They were discussing mammograms when Elvira mentioned her recent screening. "She goes, 'I had my mammogram and got squished' and all that stuff," Pam recounted. As they kept talking, Pam revealed that she hadn't had a mammogram in many years. Elvira advised her to get one as soon as possible. "She said, 'I'm going to listen to you, girl,' that's what she said," Elvira pointed out. She had a mammogram and an ultrasound after the conversation that day. As a professional nurse, Pam could immediately see something was amiss.
"I could see it was not normal up on the screen," Pam remarked. She was eventually diagnosed with breast cancer and was glad that it was caught early because of one conversation at the supermarket. The woman received chemotherapy for her breast cancer at Essentia Health Cancer Center, per the outlet. "I am so lucky it got caught when it did and yep, if it hadn't been for her, it wouldn't have happened," Pam said about Elvira. On the other hand, Elvira was heartbroken when she heard the news. "When she called me and shared with me the results, it broke my heart. I am about to tear up right now." Nonetheless, Pam reassured her that she was responsible for saving her life.
"She was like 'I am so sorry,' but I told her that she was responsible for saving my life and I tear up every time." Finding breast cancer early is one crucial way of preventing deaths related to the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. Getting screened is one of the best possible ways to do that. Women between 40 to 44 years of age have the option of starting screenings every year. While women between the ages of 45 to 54 are supposed to get screened every year.
Even Pam's husband reached out to Elvira over the phone to thank her for saving his wife's life. "I was shocked. He said 'Elvira, I want to thank you for saving my wife's life,'" Pam recalled. She had liked meeting Elvira at the counter even before the fateful conversation because of her energy. "This is just so refreshing and you can feel her presence way back in the line," Pam expressed. Many other customers also loved Elvira because of her infectious energy and cheerful spirit. "You are my favorite checker. I walk from the other end of the store just to come to her checkout," one customer told the cashier.
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