It was the classic old stand by sweeps stunt.

A Reporter decided to get a mammogram and do it on TV. It has been done so many times, although almost never outside of a ratings period it has gotten cliche.

But, when WBTV (Charlotte) Reporter Kristen Hampton suggested that she do the on air mammogram, she never knew that it might have saved her life.

"I wanted to show women that mammograms aren't as scary as they may seem. The best way to show that was to have a mammogram at 35 years old and record every single part of it and put it out there for the world to see", Hampton said.

"I'm clearly not old enough to be suggested for a scan yet, but for demonstration purposes, it's just fine", She added.

But then she got some news that she did not expect.

"I never imagined in a million years, just three days after my scan, I would be sitting in an office with a paper vest on listening to a doctor tell me I might have cancer. The idea of that still blows my mind, "Hampton writes.

Her original scan came back with an area of concern in her left breast. They called it "architectural distortion."

She had another mammogram. an ultrasound.

"I watched on a TV screen as a technologist moved the scanning device over something that looks just like a bat, buried in my left breast. I even giggled and asked how a bat could have possibly gotten into my left breast," she said.

The biopsy came back with great news and nerve-wracking news. The mass they found isn't a giant blob of cancer cells. But it is something pretty rare. And in order to test the whole thing for cancer, it has to all be removed.

On Tuesday, Hampton is having surgery to remove the "bat-thing." She's been told there's a 10-30% chance it could contain malignant cells.

But the outlook is good and it appears that, for once a sweeps stunt really did some good.

Imagine that.