This year, 226,870 U.S. women will have an abnormal mammogram. They’ll get an ultrasound and have a biopsy. Then they’ll hear the words they’ve been dreading.

“You have breast cancer.”

In June, Linda Watt of Spanish Fort became one of those women.

“I can only say that I was totally blown away when the doctors told me I had cancer,” Watt said. “It is not in my family, and I think a lot of women think that if it doesn’t run in their family it’s not going to happen to them. I was totally overwhelmed.”

Watt, 61, always went to the doctor for a yearly mammogram. Fortunately, her invasive ductal cancer, a low-risk breast cancer, was detected while it was still at stage 1. Watt elected to have a mastectomy and underwent surgery Aug. 16.

Because of her early diagnosis, Watt did not have to have chemotherapy or radiation.

“I can’t stress enough how important it is to go for your mammogram,” she said. “They found mine so early that my treatment will be so minimal compared to others.”

Throughout her treatment, Watt said she realized how many women in Baldwin County have had breast cancer. Immediately after her diagnosis, she was surrounded by a community of people who understood what she was experiencing.

“I’ve been overwhelmed by the people who have had breast cancer who have supported me,” Watt said. “When I went to see my cancer surgeon, I noticed in the waiting room very young women, teenagers and older people, even men. And it’s just so shocking. Cancer doesn’t care.”

According to the American Cancer Society, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer sometime in her life.

That’s why breast cancer awareness month is so well known, said Fairhope resident Carol Slatter, workforce development coordinator for Infirmary Health and co-chair of the local breast cancer awareness walk, Making Strides against Breast Cancer of South Alabama.

“When it gets close to home it gets very personal,” Slatter said. “It’s a shame that any of us have to deal with any of that, so I think any research will go a long way in preventing cancer in the future for other families.”

The walk, which is in its fifth year, will be Oct. 27 at the Mobile Civic Center. Registration is at 7 a.m., and the walk begins at 8 a.m. More than 24,000 people are expected to attend.

Although the walk is in Mobile, Slatter said it is an event for Baldwin County families as well. With such a large crowd of people, downtown Mobile was the most logical choice for the location, she said.

“We were trying to get it as centrally located as possible because it’s not just a Mobile event — it’s for south Alabama,” Slatter said. “We want to encourage Baldwin County to drive a little way across the bay and come on over and participate as well."

Registration for the walk is free, and walkers are encouraged to form teams. In the past, the goal of the walk was simply to raise awareness, but now, the organizers are encouraging walkers and supporters to donate as well, Slatter said. The fundraising goal for this year’s walk is $500,000.

Watt said these walks and other fundraisers like Relay for Life mean a lot to cancer patients, survivors and their families.

“It’s very uplifting to know that people care enough to give their time and their monetary donations to help people,” she said.