Join us for the breast cancer awareness walk Saturday
Come join us Saturday in Murrells Inlet for one of our community’s most inspirational events.
The 2015 In the Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Walk, sponsored by Tidelands Health Foundation, is a time of celebration, of remembrance and hope.
The two-mile walk, which begins at the Imaging Center on U.S. 17 Bypass across from Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital and winds along the Marsh Walk, raises funds for Tidelands Health Foundation’s Breast Care Fund. It’s a day of inspiration, remembrance and fellowship. It’s also a day when survivors celebrate their strength, their courage and the sheer joy of being here to celebrate one more day with family and friends.
The Breast Care Fund helps uninsured and underserved patients in our community get mammograms.
Since its inception, the Tidelands Health fund has provided nearly 1,300 free mammograms and clinical breast exams, along with follow-up care as needed.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the Palmetto State, and early detection is critical. The good news is that breast cancer is treatable and survivable, and help is available. According to statistics from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, a woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer at the earliest stage before any cancer cells have spread has a 99 percent chance of surviving at least five years. In addition, 82 out of 100 women diagnosed with breast cancer are living at least 10 years after diagnosis, and 77 out of 100 are living at least 15 years.
The very good news is that women in our community can get cutting edge breast cancer care and treatment close to home through Tidelands Health’s nationally accredited breast health program at the Tidelands Coastal Carolina Breast Center.
Advances in diagnostics, surgery and treatment have improved dramatically in the last 15 years. Among these are minimally invasive breast biopsies for diagnosis, breast conservation techniques that preserve the shape and appearance of the breast, nipple-sparing mastectomies with simultaneous reconstruction, the administration of chemotherapy to shrink a tumor before surgery, targeted chemotherapy and 3D tomosynthesis mammography, which reduces the number of false positives and enables us to detect breast cancer much earlier than traditional mammograms.
At Tidelands Health, we adhere to standards of care and protocols set forth by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and we also use a team approach to care for our patients throughout their treatment. That also includes a team of breast cancer surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, a clinical trials director, breast cancer navigator, a physicist and oncology nurses who meet regularly to evaluate and discuss every single case to ensure seamless care.
This comprehensive breast health program includes Tidelands Coastal Carolina Breast Center, Tidelands Waccamaw Oncology, the Tidelands Francis B. Ford Cancer Treatment Center, Georgetown Radiology and Georgetown Pathology Associates. The program is accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.
The journey from diagnosis to treatment and the road to recovery for someone battling breast cancer can seem like a lonely journey. Your support and your presence Saturday will remind everyone who is touched by breast cancer -- your friends, your neighbors, colleagues and family members -- that they are not alone.
We hope to see you there.
Dr. Craig Brackett and Dr. Angela Mislowsky are breast cancer surgeons and physicians with Tidelands Coastal Carolina Breast Center at 4181 U.S. 17 Bypass in Murrells Inlet, 2405 North Fraser St. in Georgetown and 8203 Nigels Drive in Myrtle Beach.
This story was originally published September 27, 2015 at 12:43 AM with the headline "Join us for the breast cancer awareness walk Saturday."