In the wake of breast cancer awareness month, Melinda Mehaffy, economic development director, shares her story and explains early detection can save lives. Mehaffy said she had begun to receive annual mammograms at 37 years old and became angry at her doctor when she realized she had to pay $280 out of pocket for the exam. In her eyes that was a lot of money for a medical procedure. Before her 39th birthday, she received news that both her mother and sister had been diagnosed with breast cancer and started undergoing available treatments to fight for their lives. Yet when Mehaffy turned 44, she flunked her first mammogram in Jan. 2014. “I had to wait six months before I could be tested again,” she said. “You can bet I was back in there exactly six months later for more testing.” When she returned to the doctor for another round of examination, in less than a week, she underwent a stereotactic breast biopsy because another exam came back with a failed result. According to UNC’s…