Pretty in Pink

Claremore Regional Hospital is hosting “Pretty in Pink” Week October 15 through 19 to raise awareness for breast cancer.

At noon on October 19, hundreds of pink balloons will be released over Claremore from the Ne-Mar Shopping Center. On each balloon will be the name of a breast cancer survivor or the name of a loved one who has lost the battle with the disease that the American Cancer Society says will strike an estimated 178,480 women in 2007. In an effort to educate the public and increase breast cancer awareness, Claremore Regional Hospital is planning “Pretty in Pink” Week for October 15 through 19.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to Cheryl West, marketing coordinator for Claremore Regional Hospital, October 19 is National Mammography Day. To put together the event, West has been working with a committee of employees from the hospital and from various physicians’ offices in Claremore. “Getting a mammogram is important,” she says. “We have included staff members on our committee who cover the spectrum before, during and after a breast cancer diagnosis.”

Although the incidence of breast cancer deaths has steadily declined, the disease remains the number two killer of women in the United States. Medical experts attribute the decline in breast cancer deaths to early detection and more effective treatments. “We want to educate women and encourage them to schedule a mammogram,” West says.

Leslie Maynor, a mammography technician at Claremore Regional Hospital, agrees with West. “A mammogram can detect a suspicious area in the breast up to two years before a woman finds a lump,” she says. Women who want a mammogram at Claremore Regional Hospital must have a physician referral. West emphasizes the importance of having a doctor who can determine the best course of follow-up if cancer is detected.

Raising awareness through education is the goal of “Pretty in Pink” Week. Included in the event will be two educational luncheons. “We have a physician-led panel discussion scheduled on Tuesday, while a mammography technician will discuss self-exams at the second seminar on Thursday,” says West.

As a part of the week-long event, a memory tree will be located in the foyer of the Surgery and Outpatient Diagnostic Center on the north side of Claremore Regional Hospital. Friends and family can bring photos of loved ones, whether they are survivors or were lost to breast cancer, to the center. The individuals’ names will be added to the tree.

“Pretty in Pink” Week will culminate with the balloon release. Each participant at Friday’s event will have the opportunity to release a pink balloon with the name of a survivor or loved one lost to breast cancer printed on it.

“We also encourage people to help us raise breast cancer awareness by making a human chain down Will Rogers Boulevard,” says West. “We want people to hold hands and join together to fight breast cancer. We hope to have people from one end of Will Rogers Boulevard to the other,” says West. “We want to remind women to get their mammograms.”

“We are also collecting Yoplait lids,” says West, who points out that 10 cents will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation for each lid.

For more information, please call West at Claremore Regional Hospital at (918) 342-6742. She and the rest of the “Pretty in Pink” Week Committee hope to see Claremore dressed in pink October 15 through 19 in support of breast cancer awareness.

For more information, contact

Claremore Regional Hospital

1202 N. Muskogee Pl., Claremore, OK 74017

(918) 342-6742

www.claremorereghospital.com