Susan Sprinkle-Vincent's love for her mother was profound and unending. Her respect for her was so powerful that it led Sprinkle Vincent to a career directly inspired by her mother.
And when her mother died at a young age, that love empowered Sprinkle-Vincent to embrace a career that detected the same sort of cancer that took her mother's life. For more than 35 years, Sprinkle-Vincent's passion for what she does is shown every day in the people with whom she works, the ones she trains, and the patients she helps. That's the way her mother raised and inspired her. Susan Sprinkle-Vincent, AAS, R.T.(R)(M), is mammography program manager/consultant for the Advanced Health Education Center, Ltd., in Houston, Texas.
Though her mother was a nurse,Sprinkle-Vincent knew she didn't want to follow directly in those footsteps-but she was interested in pursuing a career in healthcare. "Back in those days, nurses did a lot of non-nursing work (such as emptying bed pans)," and she knew that was not for her, she says.
Realizing this, Sprinkle-Vincent's mother introduced her to radiology. At the time, while still i high school, Sprinkle-Vincent was volunteering as a candy striper at area hospitals. "She said it was a profession that helped doctors make a diagnosis when people were ill or injured, I liked that," she remembers. "It was very important to her that her daughter went to school and had a profession that would enable her to take care of herself for life, and she felt that this was a good choice as there would always be a need for it in healthcare."
Sadly, though, when she was in 11th grade, Sprinkle-Vincent's lifebegan to change after her mother was diafnosed with breast cancer. "My mother was a wonderful person and mother," she says, explaining how her mother nursed a friends's mother until the woman eventually diad of breast cancer.
"When my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, she moved to the OB/GYN nursing department," says Sprinkle-Vincent, who spent a lot of her time at the hospital with her mother and admired her so much. "She was loved by everyone and I knew I wanted to do something that would help people with their illness," she says. "My mom died in 1975, one year after I graduated from X-ray school... There was standing room only at her funeral and I knew I had made the right choice. Her death was very difficult for me and still is. She was terribly misdiagnosed at first and then her cancer spread and took her life. She was only 53 years old."

Mrs. Susan,
Just wanted to say thanks for the last 4 days of lecture. It has been a real pleasure being in your class. You have a great gift and your passion and dedication to this field really shows.
Thanks,
Araceli

Great personality for what you do!
Thanks,
Betty

Mrs. Susan
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us.
Thanks,
Shelly

Mrs. Susan
Thank you so much for this class! It has been great, I hope to be a great mammo tech because of you.
Thanks,
Amy

Mrs. Susan
Thank you for everything you have done for us this week.
Thanks,
Elizabeth