Organizations stress importance of breast cancer awareness
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FLATHEAD RESERVATION — On average, 24 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Lake County each year, according to data analyzed by the National Institute for Health. October is the month where the entire nation goes pink in honor of these women and a spotlight is shone on the disease they fight. Breast cancer awareness month lasts 31 days, but local efforts to diagnose, prevent and treat the disease occur year round.
The Salish Kootenai College Prevention Task Force hosts a Women 4 Wellness Health Fair each year that plays a critical role helping women in Mission Valley detect the disease.
“Because of the Women 4 Wellness Health Fair we diagnose people every year with breast cancer,” task force director Niki Graham said at a recent SAFE Harbor event.
The bulk of breast cancer awareness campaigns stress the importance of regular mammograms for women who are more than 40 years old and self-examination by grown women of all ages. Graham said two cases this year have shown the task force that there is also a need to show young girls the disease isn’t just a reality for their mothers and grandmothers. It can be a reality for them, too.
“We diagnosed a 12 and 17 year old this year,” Graham said. “So our focus has been to really work with our youth.”
Delayed reaction about what to do once the bump appeared led to delayed treatment of one of the girls.
“The 17 year old actually had the bump for several months,” Graham said. “She would hold her arm up and you could see it on the side of her, but because the mom didn’t know where to go she waited six months to come to the health fair.”
Graham hopes this won’t happen again.
“She’s been taken care of and things are going well right now, but obviously more awareness needs to happen,” Graham said. “It’s not just the 40-year-old women. It’s everyone that needs to know.”
Making a judgment call on when to have a lump in the breast examined can be difficult. According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which is one of the nation’s leading fundraisers for breast cancer research, a number of benign breast conditions can cause lumps. In younger women, lumps may also be linked to changes in the menstrual cycle, the foundation advises. The foundation recommends seeing a health provider if a woman finds a new lump or change that feels different from the rest of the breast or the other breast, or the woman feels something that is different from anything felt before. Cancer can also be present without any noticeable lumps in the breast.
St. Luke Community Hospital in Ronan has offered free mammogram services to qualified women for the past decade because of the generosity of the St. Luke Foundation.
“Women must be uninsured, over 40 years of age, have no history of breast cancer or implants and live in the area served by the healthcare network,” foundation executive director Gayle Wilhelm said in a press release.
The hospital has extended hours on Monday and Tuesdays to allow women who work the opportunity to access mammograms. The schedule becomes very packed in October, but the free services are offered year round.
Organizations and businesses are marking breast cancer awareness month by offering promotions to help make sure women in Mission Valley receive health services.
St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson held a “Pinkalicious” event Thursday, Oct. 17, answering questions and providing free mammograms.
The SKC Prevention Task Force is selling pink t-shirts for men and women that include a blank space underneath “I’m fighting for” text, so people can dedicate their shirts to someone. The cost is $20. Proceeds benefit the Women 4 Wellness Health Fair.
Healthcare Plus in Polson is offering a promotion where 15 percent of everything pink goes to SAFE Harbor, which provides resources to victims of domestic and sexual violence.
“When she said anything pink I thought, ‘how many pink things do they have in the drugstore?’” SAFE Harbor executive director DeeAnn Richardson said. “I stopped there today and they have all of these pink dots. Someone went crazy with the pink dot thing to make sure everything is covered. It’s crazy pink in there.”
