CLEVELAND -- One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.

If it's you, you'll want to know as soon as possible, because the best way to beat it is to catch it early.

Because it's the fifth of the month, NewsChannel5 Health Team reporter Alicia Booth has more on a local survivor and a new way to find the best treatment possible.

The start of this school year marks better times for Cindy Shank.

Shank has put her battle with breast cancer behind her, but she is still not over the shock of being diagnosed when she was only 30.

"When I got the phone call with my lab results, I was actually here at school, and just fell apart," she said.

Shank had a lot of decisions to make, but she wouldn't be making them alone, because at University Hospitals, a team of doctors was already discussing her case.

The Tumor Board is made up of a collection of doctors, nurses, and social workers -- all of whom come in contact with patients diagnosed with cancer and who will shape each patient's course of treatment.

They group meets every week.

"And it gives us something to go back to the patient and say, 'Hey, we went over this, the oncologist has seen this, the radiologist has rechecked things, the pathologist has checked this,'" said Dr. Robert Shenk of University Hospitals.

It's a built-in second, third, and even fourth opinion that gives a patient a certain level of confidence when there are so many different choices.

"I thought, 'Wow, what a great system,'" Shank said. "Word got around so quickly to my different doctors (who) I hadn't even seen yet, and they already knew my story."

Now Shank's story is that of a healthy young woman who's teaching goes far beyond her classroom. She's living proof that you can beat breast cancer if you catch it early.

That's why it's important to do self-exams. A lot of women don't do them because they're afraid of what they'll find, but doctors said they're crucial.