Bears fan undergoing breast cancer treatment helped unfurl pink ribbon at Soldier Field


Bears fan undergoing breast cancer treatment helped unfurl pink ribbon at Soldier Field

Hospital employee encourages women with dense breasts to stay on top of screenings and follow-up care


More than 60,000 football fans cheered as Lynwood resident Brenda Mayfield-Anderson, 63, who is nearing the end of chemotherapy for stage 1 breast cancer, joined nine other Advocate Health Care breast cancer patients and survivors to unfurl a giant pink ribbon at halftime of the Oct. 4 Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field.


The pink ribbon unfurling was part of the Chicago Bears’ annual Real Bears Fans Wear Pink initiative, presented by Advocate Health Care to kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month.


“My love for the Bears has intensified over the last 25 years, and I am super excited,” Mayfield-Anderson said. “Joining other breast cancer survivors who are farther along on their journey is inspiring, and I hope to be an inspiration for others, too. If I can remind one more person to keep up with their breast health, that means even more.”


Mayfield-Anderson, a devoted Bears fan who works as lead biomedical equipment technician at Advocate Trinity Hospital, credits her family and hospital teammates, including members of her care team, with helping her move quickly from diagnosis to treatment.


“My village at Trinity walked me through this process,” she said. “I’m still overwhelmed by the love I get at Advocate Trinity Hospital.”


Her breast health journey began two years ago when a routine mammogram determined Mayfield-Anderson had dense breast tissue. Additional testing, including a diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy found no cancer.


Then, over Memorial Day weekend in May 2026, Mayfield-Anderson felt something unusual while getting undressed after work and immediately scheduled another diagnostic mammogram. This time, the testing led to a stage 1 breast cancer diagnosis.


“Just because your diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound are OK doesn’t mean cancer can’t happen later,” she said.


Mayfield-Anderson has completed four of six planned chemotherapy cycles, with her husband, Kenneth, and sister, Toria Morin, accompanying her to each appointment.


About half of women in the U.S. who have mammograms have dense breast tissue, according to the American Cancer Society. Dense breast tissue can make it harder for radiologists to see cancer on a mammogram.


“Dense breast tissue can hide a tumor on a mammogram,” said Mayfield-Anderson’s breast surgeon Dr. Barbara Krueger, medical director of breast cancer services at Advocate Christ Medical Center. “If your doctor tells you that you have dense breasts, don’t let that be the end of the conversation. Ask whether additional screening, like an ultrasound or MRI, is appropriate for you, and stay on track with your regular screenings. That follow-up could be the difference between catching cancer early and missing it altogether.”


Mayfield-Anderson’s Bears fandom began more than 25 years ago when she started watching football to spend time with Kenneth, the man who would become her husband of more than 30 years. Her interest in the team grew from there.


Today, the Bears are her regular topic before daily Safety Huddle meetings with hospital leaders at Advocate Trinity. At home, she has a closet dedicated to Bears attire, a Bears license plate on her Bears-blue car and hosts a widely anticipated backyard birthday tailgate party that her five sons and family have attend every year since 2015. Last Christmas, she projected the “Super Bowl Shuffle” onto the side of her house, and when a neighbor posted a video of the display on TikTok, the post went viral.


On Oct. 2, Mayfield-Anderson took her Bears fandom to Halas Hall, where Advocate Health Care and the Bears gave her and her family a VIP sideline view of practice. Bears running back Kyle Monangai presented her with a jersey bearing a pink Advocate Health Care patch. Mayfield-Anderson gave Monangai a customized varsity jacket covered in patches, matching one she kept for herself.

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