GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Lieutenant Steve Mahoney with the Green Bay Police Department gets teary-eyed remembering his wife's diagnosis.
“I remember very vividly, the day…" Mahoney said. "The impact was great because of the unknown when you first hear the big C word that is cancer.”
Seven years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer during a routine mammogram. It was caught so early, she was able to avoid chemotherapy and other hardships down the road. However, she did decide to have a double mastectomy.
“On a family level, it did bring us very close together," Mahoney said. "It was a very scary time, but from talking to her doctor, and the reconstruction, as once again, by catching it early, it saved a lot of potential hardship down the road.”
Since then, Mahoney has had a passion for raising breast cancer awareness. So much so, he and his wife collaborated and create pink badges and patches for the police department to wear during the month of October. Mahoney sells them every year, and in five years, has collected close to $8,000 for a local charity, Ribbon of Hope. The organization promises 98 cents of every dollar goes back to women in Northeast Wisconsin that might need help with transportation, food and other expenses. Little by little, he finds more men in blue are willing to wear them.
“The old macho cop, like, I'm not wearing a pink badge, but every year, I keep getting more and more officers that want to wear them," Mahoney said. "And unfortunately, more and more officers and other people in the community are affected throughout the year, where then they kind of understand, oh, now I understand why you're so passionate about the badge.”
The support he received from his team, he says, feels unbelievable.
"Most of us officers actually spend more time with each other than we do with our family at home," Mahoney said. "So it was the support I got here at the police department was amazing. Rank went out the window, there were no longer supervisers or subordinates, we were just all a family.”
Mahoney preaches routine check-ups, and acknowledges despite the uncomfortable few moments in the doctors office, it's so worth it.
“I'll talk to any lady out there friend, family, or stranger and say, hey, please go get your mammograms, please," Mahoney said. "If you feel a lump, don't just blow it off and think hey, you know, this can't happen to me.”
