Blue Ridge Participates in Breast Cancer Awareness

Blue Ridge Community Health Services participates in Breast Cancer Awareness Month and finds unique ways to educate women, especially those over the age of 40:

In order to raise awareness about the importance of routine breast cancer screenings, the staff of Blue Ridge Community Health Services (BRCHS) dressed in pink on October 13. Staff from all of BR’s facilities, family practice, pediatrics, dental clinic and school health participated in the special campaign. Medical providers and clinical staff wore pink shirts, scrubs, finger nails, and even pink hair. It worked! When people saw Blue Ridge’s pink staff and asked, it provided an opportunity to remind them that the women in their life should have routine screenings.

“We know that age and gender are the most predictive risk factors for breast cancer. If all women started getting mammograms at age 40, breast cancer death rates would drop up to 30 percent,” says Dr. Shannon Dowler, BRCHS Medical Director. “The key to mammography screening is that it be done routinely – once is not enough. Remind the women in your life how much they mean to you and the importance of regular health screenings – it might just save a life.”