After a bout with breast health, Ashli Kottsick (lower right), Kindred, advocates for women to schedule preventative screenings like mammograms and Pap Smears.
- October 15, 2024
- Press Release
Carrying On: 41-year-old Kindred woman says after cancer, she is grateful
Ashli Kottsick lives an active life – mothering her high school senior, working full-time and golfing on weekends when she can.
When she isn’t working and caring for family, she enjoys spending time at her home in Kindred, N.D. Home to about 1,000 people, Kindred is located 28 miles south and west of Fargo. Kottsick also enjoys traveling to see family in Jamestown, Mandan and the surrounding communities.
This October, we are sharing stories of hope. Stories of advocacy. Stories like Ashli’s.
“My primary care provider said ‘Ashli, you’re 40, you should schedule your mammogram.’ I didn’t want to but I’m so glad I did,” she said.
Mammograms are a preventive screening used to test for cancer.
Kottsick has a family history. A maternal aunt had breast cancer, and her father passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2022.
Despite what Kottsick expected to be a routine exam, her care team found an area of concern.
WHY MAMMOGRAMS MATTER
Doctors diagnosed Kottsick with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, a non-invasive breast cancer in October 2023. The following weeks included scans, biopsies and two surgeries. Fast forward to December, she completed five sessions of accelerated radiation therapy too. She also takes a daily estrogen receptor medication – a medication she will continue for the next five years.
“I was thankful I didn’t require chemotherapy,” she said.
With the support of her husband, family and friends, she remained optimistic.
She is also grateful for her health plan. Because of her family history, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota covered genetic testing for her too.
“If I didn’t have insurance, I don’t event want to think about it,” she said.
After this experience, Kottsick is advocating for others. Early detection is important, she said.
“If you think just because you don’t have any symptoms or you’re too young for this -- get those thoughts out of your head,” she said. “If I would have waited, the whole process of care would have been more challenging. Not to mention the total cost of care and time away from work.”
Routine screenings like mammograms, Pap tests and colonoscopies are often available at no additional cost to BCBSND members. This care, called preventive screenings, is a perk of health insurance.
“Bring as much attention to it as you can,” she said. “I hope this story has an impact.”
At age 41, Kottsick had her second mammogram scheduled for this month.
The results?
“I got a good report,” she said. “My oncologist will do a re-check in six months.”
Today, Kottsick is continuing her journey. She participated in a Casting For Recovery Retreat for women who have experienced breast cancer. The fishing retreat is a safe space for women who ‘get it’,” she said.
“Breast cancer is a journey,” she said. “Not a destination. Get your mammogram scheduled, don’t put it off.”
Learn more:
- Schedule women’s screenings and other health plan perks.
- Find a doctor in your area.
