JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville police officer is alive today thanks to a Buddy Check moment — and her baby daughter.

Jess Kramer was rocking her little girl, Dakota, to sleep when she felt her baby’s head pressing against her chest. That’s when Jess noticed something unusual. Something in her breast hurt.

“It felt like a whole walnut — shape and size, but definitely hard to the touch,” Jess said.

Her self-exam revealed a lump. Jess, just 32 years old, was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.

Her husband, Matt, a Jacksonville firefighter, says Buddy Check has been part of his life since childhood.

“I remember growing up as a kid and listening to you teach me how important this is,” Matt said.

Saving lives runs in the Kramer family. Matt’s father served 34 years with JFRD, and h

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