.webp)
Nashville Survivor Turns Breast Cancer Diagnosis Into an App Downloaded More Than 200,000 Times
After discovering breast cancer at 33, Jessica Baladad transformed her experience into a nationwide movement encouraging women to understand their bodies and advocate for their health.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For Jessica Baladad, breast cancer does not simply run in her family.
“It sprints,” she said.
Fourteen women on Baladad’s father’s side of the family have faced the disease, making her the fourth generation to receive a breast cancer diagnosis. Despite that extensive history, her family has no known genetic mutation associated with the disease.
Now, the Nashville native is using her experience to help others take charge of their health through Feel For Your Life, a breast health advocacy platform and app that has reached more than 200,000 people.
Baladad grew up in White House, Tennessee, and has lived throughout Davidson County and its surrounding communities. Before entering the health advocacy space, she built a career in journalism and marketing, including an early role at The Tennessean.
When the recession disrupted the newspaper industry, she reinvented herself as a marketing professional. She began helping brands, public figures, celebrities and faith leaders connect with audiences through personal storytelling.
That ability to reinvent herself would become a defining part of her life.
A Diagnosis at 33
Baladad was 33 years old when she first received her breast cancer diagnosis.
Although it was devastating, it was not entirely unexpected. As Baladad learned she had cancer, one of her aunts was dying from the same disease.
“I had to miss one of my aunt’s funerals because she was dying as I was being diagnosed,” she said.
The oncologist who treated Baladad had also cared for one of her aunts and her grandmother. After receiving confirmation from her biopsy, Baladad immediately called her father, who raised her.
Her father contacted the oncologist’s office, and the doctor agreed to see her at 8 a.m. the following morning, even though he was not scheduled to see patients that day.
Approximately 10 days passed between Baladad’s mammogram and the beginning of chemotherapy.
“I went from being at the peak of my career in marketing to losing my hair and coming to terms with how my body was about to be transformed by a disease that I felt I had no control over,” she said.
A Self-Exam That Changed Her Life
Baladad’s habit of performing breast self-exams began years before her cancer diagnosis.
At 18, she discovered a lump while showering. The mass was later identified as a fibroadenoma, a common noncancerous breast lump. Because it continued growing and caused discomfort, Baladad underwent a lumpectomy to have it removed.
That experience taught her to regularly check her breasts, a routine that has been made a part of her everyday life for over a decade.
In early 2018, Baladad completed self-exams in January and February but nearly skipped March because she had recently attended her annual well-woman appointment.
During that visit, a nurse practitioner performed a clinical breast exam and did not express any concerns. Ironically, it was the turning point when everything changed.
Medical records she later obtained indicated that her breasts had been documented as normal. She said she eventually learned that the provider had felt the lump but believed it was another fibroadenoma because of Baladad’s age and medical history.
Baladad decided to maintain her normal self-exam routine and not jump to conclusions.
While performing an at-home assessment, she felt a lump that was hard to ignore. She immediately checked the same area on her right breast but could not find anything similar. A tactic she advocates many women should be doing while performing their own breast assessments.
Baladad initially tried to reassure herself. She did not have other commonly discussed breast cancer symptoms, such as skin changes, dimpling, a rash or nipple discharge. She also trusted that her healthcare provider would have said something if there were cause for concern.
“I just held on to the fact that the doctor surely would have said something,” she said. “But she didn’t.”
Baladad was also between insurance providers at the time. It ultimately took four months for her to receive screening after discovering the lump.
“That’s when I realized how this system can really minimize your voice and have you questioning your body,” she said.
Turning Cancer Into a Calling
Baladad’s experience exposed what she describes as significant gaps in breast healthcare, particularly for women younger than 40.
She noted that routine screening mammograms are covered by insurance and associated with women 40 years of age or older.
However, though her own personal story, breast cancer can show up as early as 30 years old.
She believes symptoms in younger women are too often attributed to hormones, stress, caffeine consumption or weight.
That dismissive feeling happens much more often to women who find out they had been living with cancer longer than they should.
With women's health advocacy and her own personal tie to breast cancer, Baladad swung into action.
“Cancer happened for me. It didn’t happen to me,” she said. “I have a purpose in this.”
That purpose led her to create Feel For Your Life, empowering people to become familiar with their bodies, recognize potential changes and speak up when something does not feel right.
Her journalism and marketing background became an unexpected foundation for the work. After years of helping other people and brands communicate their stories, Baladad began using those same skills to educate patients and challenge the healthcare industry to provide more accessible, preventative care.
“There is definitely a calling that emerged from it,” she said. “I’m grateful that I’ve been able to take this and forge a path for better treatments, for better care and to hold our healthcare industry accountable.”
The app has also taken Baladad’s mission far beyond Tennessee. Feel For Your Life has been downloaded more than 200,000 times, reaching users in countries including India and New Zealand.
Connecting with people around the world has shown her how greatly breast health education, cultural attitudes and access to care can differ from one country to another. It has also reinforced a universal lesson: People everywhere want reliable information that helps them better understand their bodies, recognize changes and feel confident speaking up for their health.
For Baladad, the mission is far from finished.
“It ain’t over till it’s over,” she said. “I have a lot of work to do, and I have a long way to go.”
She hopes her app can give women, and even men, the tools to ask the right questions, recognize changes in their bodies and confidently advocate for the care they deserve.
Tennessee Trends is proud to support businesses like Jessica who are helping advance conversations around women's health. Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
Comments