Friday is National Mammography Day. News 12 sat down with Jane Baldwin-Sasso to talk about the importance of breast cancer screenings and her mother's legacy.

Jane Baldwin-Sasso’s mother, Carol Baldwin, was diagnosed with cancer in 1991. Despite a difficult time battling the disease, she survived.

Baldwin-Sasso says her mother, who died in 2022, felt so fortunate and lucky that she “decided to parlay that into a cause.” Enter the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund and Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center in Stony Brook. Baldwin-Sasso’s message to women is “early detection is critical.”

Dr. Melinda Staiger is director of clinical operations at Stony Brook Medicine’s Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center. She says one reason women may put off mammograms is fear. She suggests that those who my be anxious bring a friend.

Staiger says this isn’t a message just for October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She stressed it’s for the entire year. “Every day is ladies’ day here," she says.