County turns pink for breast cancer prevention
DOVER (WJER) (Oct. 2, 2023) – Pink decorations have been popping up around the community to remind passersby that mammograms save lives.
The displays in front of area schools, businesses, and non-profit organizations are part of the Paint Tusc Pink campaign that Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital hosts for Breast Cancer Awareness Month each October. President Thomas Rogers says mammography rates in the county have risen significantly since it started around 15 years ago.
“I think over 70 percent of the women that should be screened in Tuscarawas County based on our community health needs have been but we could be higher.”
Rogers stopped by the station last week with Breast Care Coordinator Raena Beans, who oversees mammography at the hospital and had her first screening earlier this year.
“I talked to my physician about it and just told her, ‘I don’t have a high risk’ but I felt like, you know, it was time to be preventative so we went ahead and got started.”
The American Cancer Association and other leading medical organizations recommend women have their first breast cancer screening at age 40 and earlier if there’s a family history or other risk factors.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase ‘early detection saves lives,’ and even though breast cancer screening doesn’t prevent cancer, it does allow us to detect cancer early when it is more treatable,” Beans says.
For a free Paint Tusc Pink sign to display in front of your workplace, call the hospital’s Community Relations Department at 330-365-3866. Participants are asked to email a photo or the location of their decorations to Communications Manager Darrin Lautenschleger at lautend2@ccf.org.