JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - For Sherry Thomas, hearing she had breast cancer left her shocked and surprised.

"I'm 51 and I enjoy working out and love to do yoga, so I was kind of like, 'Wow, how could this happen to someone who's active, loves to go to the gym and likes to eat healthy?' " the Portage resident said. "I needed time to digest and process it. I was afraid, but I didn't get anxious about it and wouldn't let myself go down that rabbit hole."

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It was a yearly mammogram in February that detected the cancer.

"There was a storm that day and my son took me to my appointment, and thank God that I went," Thomas said.

Within a few days of the mammogram, she said, she received a phone call telling her she had an abnormal mammogram and more pictures were needed.

"I've had abnormal readings before, so I didn't think anything of it," Thomas said.

A few days later, she received another call telling her they wanted to do a biopsy on the right breast.

"I then found out it was cancer," she said. "There was no lump. There was nothing at all. The cancer was in my duct and I wouldn't have felt anything."

She said after more tests throughout March, she met with breast surgeon Dr. Patti Stefanick to discuss her options and the course of treatment. In May, Thomas had a bilateral mastectomy.

"Even though the cancer was just in my right breast, I didn't want to worry if there could be something found in my left breast," she said.

Thomas also chose to have reconstructive surgery that was done by Dr. Paul Rollins in July.

"I didn't need to do chemotherapy or radiation because it was caught so early," she said. "I do take medicine every day and will take that for the next five years."

While Thomas will no longer need to have mammograms, she will continue to meet with Stefanick every three months for three years.

"If we notice anything that is different or if I feel different, she will order some tests for me, but as of right now I'm doing really great," she said.

Thomas credits her husband John, her children Tyler and Abby, as well as co-workers and church family as her support system.

"I like my circle small, but my circle was an amazing circle," she said. "It made me realize that faith is what we have to get us through. You want to keep your focus on God and everything else will follow through."

Thomas' advice to women newly diagnosed with breast cancer is to lean on those around you during the hard times.

"It made my heart feel good when I said I needed to talk, those in my circle were right there," she said. "My daughter is a nurse and she was amazing, so if you have any of those resources who are family and friends, they can be a blessing in your life."

Thomas stressed the importance of annual mammograms.

"If you can't feel it, you're never going to know," she said. "You need to get those mammograms. It's the most important thing because once it's too late, it's too late."