Oct. 29, 2025: When Mary Theurer first felt something unusual in her breast, she was just 37 years old — too young, at that time, for her insurance to cover a mammogram. But Mary trusted her instincts. “I knew something wasn’t right,” she recalls. “So, I told my doctor, ‘I don’t care if insurance won’t pay — I’m getting a mammogram.’ ”
That decision likely saved her life. The mammogram confirmed what her doctor couldn’t feel — it was breast cancer. Mary underwent surgery at Lakewood Health System, where a visiting surgeon flew in from Park Rapids in the middle of a frigid Minnesota winter to perform the operation.
“Back then, there was no oncology department at Lakewood,” she explains. “I went to Fargo for follow-up care, but I was able to have my surgery right here, close to home. That meant everything.”
Today, Mary is celebrating an incredible milestone — 40 years’ cancer-free. Her journey has been one of courage, faith and gratitude.
“Our kids were in third and sixth grade at the time,” she remembers. “My daughter cried, and my son asked, ‘Are you going to die?’ I told him, ‘Eventually, yes, but I’ll do everything I can not to die now.’”
In the years that followed, Mary turned her experience into purpose. Through the American Cancer Society’s Reach to Recovery program, she became a trained volunteer, supporting newly diagnosed breast cancer patients one-on-one.
“I’d meet with women before or after surgery and tell them, ‘I may not know exactly how you feel, but I do know how it feels to hear those words,’ ” she says. “It was one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever done.” Eventually, Mary even helped train volunteers statewide to continue the mission of hope and support.
Her giving spirit didn’t stop there. A retired chiropractor, Mary has spent decades serving her community — from city council to quilting for veterans to coordinating local initiatives like Staples National Night Out and the Staples Motley Beyond Poverty group.
She currently serves on the Lakewood Health System’s District Board and the Minnesota Hospital Association Board of Directors, representing trustees from across the state. “I just love being busy and giving back,” she says with a smile. “It’s who I am. And I learned that from my dad. He was a big community man too.”
For Mary, the recent opening of the Lakewood Cancer Center is deeply personal.
“What excites me most is that people will now have access to everything — radiation, oncology, PET scans, all right here at home,” she says, adding. “Lakewood has always planned carefully, building one step at a time. Now, we have the people, the equipment, and the heart to make it all happen.”
As she reflects on her own 40-year journey, Mary’s message is one of enduring optimism.
“There’s always hope,” she says. “Hope that tomorrow will bring healing and confidence knowing you’re surrounded by caring, competent people who walk with you every step of the way. When I see the words ‘Hope Has a New Home,’ I believe it. Because it truly does — right here at Lakewood.”
To learn more about Lakewood's new 3D mammograms, click here: 3D Mammography - Lakewood Health System.