Chatham Hospital Program Featured at Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation National Conference
• Local breast cancer awareness and screening initiatives for Latinas featured alongside programs from Atlanta, Chicago and Knoxville
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 27, 2006
SILER CITY, N.C. — An ambitious Chatham Hospital program to screen Latinas for breast cancer was featured at a recent three-day national conference sponsored by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Held in Washington, D.C., the event was attended by nearly 900 scientists, breast cancer survivors and patient advocates, including First Lady Laura Bush and a special delegation from the Middle East.
Dr. Pam Frasier, director of the Chatham Hospital Hispanic Health Initiative, was one of four panelists addressing the breast cancer issues facing Hispanic women and was asked to share details on the initiative now underway in Chatham County. Through a grant funded by the N.C. Triangle Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation and administered by the Hispanic Health Initiative, Chatham Hospital has reached more than 1,000 local Latinas to promote awareness and encourage regular breast exams.
Frasier presented alongside panelists from Atlanta, Ga., Chicago, Ill., and Knoxville, Tenn., and discovered that the work underway in Chatham stacks up well against initiatives in much larger communities.
“We received lots of positive feedback and found our program is one of the most comprehensive in the country – from our door-to-door awareness campaign, to breast screenings and mammograms, to supporting women who need follow-up care after a cancer diagnosis,” Frasier said. “Thanks to the Komen Foundation, we really benefited from the collaboration during the conference and have lots of new ideas to bring home.”
First Lady Laura Bush spoke to attendees about her involvement as a volunteer during the early days of the Komen Foundation and announced a new international effort to address the high incidence of breast cancer among women in the Middle East.
Joining Frasier in representing Chatham Hospital at the conference were Alexis Amsterdam, director of Women’s Health Promotion with the Hispanic Health Initiative, and Alma Vinjé-Harrewijn, from Chatham County. Ms. Vinjé-Harrewijn is a physical and lymphedema therapist who is a consultant to the NC Triangle Affiliate outreach program in Chatham. She is on the advisory board for Lymphnotes.com and has co-authored a book on lymphedema.
Other local organizations collaborating with Chatham Hospital to make the local breast health initiative a success include Greensboro Radiology and Chatham Primary Care.
About the Susan G. Komen Foundation
For more than 20 years, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has been a global leader in the fight against breast cancer through its support of innovative research and community-based outreach programs. Working through a network of U.S. and international Affiliates and events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, the Komen Foundation is fighting to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by funding research grants and supporting education, screening and treatment projects in communities around the world.
