May 5, 2002 By Nikki Stiles 4 min read

BROWNSVILLE – Women were pampered with massages, makeup and flowers, but probably most importantly, they were educated about health issues pertinent to them at WomanKind 2002, held Saturday at Brownsville General Hospital. Though some women may not know they are at risk for heart disease, WTAE-TV news anchor Sally Wiggin, who was a guest speaker at the event, knows the dangers first-hand.

About a year ago, Wiggin had a routine EKG test that showed an abnormality, which was later found to be heart disease.

“Cardiovascular disease kills more women than all of the cancers combined,” Wiggin said. “That is one statistic many women fail to realize.”

Wiggin said she received an EKG yearly because of her family’s history of heart disease.

Her father, a smoker, died of a heart attack at age 50, and her mother, who was overweight, had a heart attack at 67 and underwent two open-heart surgeries before her death at 77.

Still, Wiggin was somewhat in denial.

“I looked at my mom and dad and thought, I don’t smoke and I’m not overweight. I won’t get heart disease,” Wiggin said.

After her diagnosis, Wiggin decided she needed to change her lifestyle. An admitted fast-food junkie who would eat fast food sometimes five times a week, she began eating better, exercising more and reducing her stress level.

“It’s really hard because I love McDonald’s hamburgers. I could eat three McDonald’s hamburgers at a sitting,” she said, advising people to avoid eating beef.

“My only real control over this is my diet and stress level.”

Exercise also has been important for Wiggin. Because of her heart condition, she must do low-key exercise, such as walking, hiking and using an elliptical machine.

Another result of Wiggin’s diagnosis was that she chose to go public with her health condition. She became the spokeswoman for a Jewish Healthcare Foundation campaign, Working Hearts, and even did a report on WTAE serving as both reporter and patient.

Ironically, the added stress of doing this woman’s heart disease report landed Wiggin in the hospital. Wiggin said she had been drinking a lot of coffee and pushing herself that week, and it took its toll.

Between shows, Wiggin was walking up the steps and began having trouble breathing and tightness in her chest.

At that point, she remembered the Working Hearts cards, which listed various symptoms of a heart attack. After she got back to the newsroom, she had a colleague call 911.

Doctors could not determine if Wiggin had a heart attack, but her medication was changed.

The trouble with heart disease is that it is not talked about as much as other diseases, such as breast cancer, and many women do not realize they are at risk and may not experience any symptoms, Wiggin said.

“Nearly a half a million women die of heart disease every year. Many women still believe they will die of breast cancer,” Wiggin said.

And many women still do die from breast cancer.

This year, about 192,000 women will be diagnosed and about 40,000 women will die from breast cancer.

Lisa Chiplaskey, a registered nurse and volunteer with the American Cancer Society, is a survivor of breast cancer. At age 30, Chiplaskey was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Fortunately, she was able to catch the cancer at an early stage by doing breast self-examination and has been cancer-free for 13 years.

Using rubberized breasts, Chiplaskey showed women how to conduct a breast examination. One breast contained normal breast tissue, another contained a cancerous tumor and the third contained fibrous tumors.

Cancerous tumors are hard, immovable and irregular and oblong in shape. Fibrous tumors, which are not cancerous, are usually round and movable, Chiplaskey said.

She said a woman should examine her breasts every month. A good time is usually a week after menstruation, and post-menopausal women should choose a certain date every month to examine their breasts.

After she felt the lump in her breast, Chiplaskey went to five doctors, who thought there was no way she could have cancer because she was so young.

However, she kept pursuing until she found a doctor who diagnosed her correctly.

“I wouldn’t be here if I had listened to them,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how young you are. Anybody can get it.”

For more information on breast cancer, call the American Cancer Society at 800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.

For more information on heart disease, call the American Heart Association at 800-242-8721 or visit www.americanheart.org.