Mary Herczog, diagnosed with breast cancer at 33, has died; she was 45

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‘On Girls’ Day Out, most women indulge in activities like tea and manicures. My friends and I? We go for mammograms.

‘Let me back up.

‘A few months ago, I discovered a couple of breast lumps. Although my nurse practitioner felt strongly that they were nothing more than cysts, she wanted me to have a mammogram to be sure and she urged me not to become complacent and put it off.

‘I put it off.’

... And so began Mary Susan Herczog’s account of her battle with breast cancer, as chronicled in the L.A. Times. The first story appeared in 1996; the final one in 2002.

The Los Angeles writer, diagnosed at age 33, died Tuesday of complications related to the disease. She was 45.

Here are Herczog’s stories, as they appeared in The Times. And a link to her blog, cancerchick.com. Her life and her battle with cancer are recounted in today’s obituary.

-- Tami Dennis