On November 15, breast cancer awareness advocate Dr. Nancy Cappello passed away.

Nancy's breast cancer diagnosis in 2004 sent her on a quest to raise awareness about breast density. Over the years, her tireless efforts have helped pass legislation putting women in greater control of their health and her non-profit, Are You Dense? has been a crucial resource for patients and their loved ones seeking to understand what dense breast tissue means to them.

In addition to bringing her insights to several of our articles over the years, Nancy's positive energy and enthusiasm has had a small but lasting impact on me.

Nancy somehow managed to make my brief five minute interaction with her an unforgettable one. We were at the Association for Medical Imaging Management (AHRA) annual meeting this past July. It was nearing the end of the show as things were slowing down and the crowd was thinning out, when she ran up to our DOTmed HealthCare Business News booth with this great sense of energy and enthusiasm that I’ve never seen at a trade show before.

I immediately recognized the name on her badge as she introduced herself. She was a contributor to an article in our July 2018 issue which happened to be the cover story and boy, was she proud of it. Seeing her pride in spreading breast density awareness (as the article and the magazine cover did) made me feel proud too.

She gushed over her positive experience working with our editor in chief, Gus Iversen and our staff reporter, John Fischer. When I told her they weren't at the show she handed me gifts to pass along to them: neon pink breast cancer awareness luggage tags.

“They are going to love these!" she said. "You have to make sure they get these.”

To me, this gesture spoke volumes about Nancy, her thoughtful nature and her unrelenting dedication to raising breast cancer awareness.

I can honestly say my short but sweet visit with Nancy was the highlight of my entire AHRA trip.

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