STHS rallies community for breast cancer month

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Friday, September 2, 2022

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STHS rallies community for breast cancer month

STHS Communication Department, CommDept@stph.org

In August 2021, St. Tammany Health System’s Be Well Bus – a 40-foot mobile health unit – was put into service, offering mammograms and other health screenings throughout the parish. Since then, it has detected five breast cancers, potentially saving five lives. (STHS photo by Mike Scott / STHS)

It was November 2021, and Jack Khashou – wearing a tie with pink accents – stood before a room of local community and healthcare stakeholders gathered to celebrate the success of St. Tammany Health System and St. Tammany Hospital Foundation’s inaugural breast cancer awareness campaign.

Moments earlier, it had been announced the campaign had raised more than $35,000 for Northshore cancer care in just one month’s time. It was then and there that Khashou, the administrator of St. Tammany Cancer Center, a campus of Ochsner Medical Center, promised that the monthlong event would be back in October 2022.

“We can’t stop now,” Khashou said. “… If you catch (cancer) early, you change the outcome. It saves lives. It really does. There’s no other way to say it.”

Delivering on that promise, the foundation – in partnership with St. Tammany Health System, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, local businesses and others – is gearing up for of return of the breast cancer awareness push.

Once again, the campaign will run all October long. Once again, it will operate with the primary goal of providing easy, convenient mammograms to as many local women as possible and educating the community on how to support breast cancer care on the Northshore. And, also once again, the health system’s Be Well Bus – a 40-foot mobile health unit equipped with leading-edge mammography equipment – will lead the charge.

“Since it first hit the streets of St. Tammany and started performing mammograms in August 2021, we’ve identified five breast cancers through screenings on the Be Well Bus,” said Anne Pablovich, the health system’s community health coordinator. “That’s potentially five lives saved in just more than a year of service. I can’t think of a better, more encouraging sign of success. And the best part is that we’re just getting started!”

Breast cancer awareness is a big deal, and so we figured we'd go big with our breast cancer awareness campaign.

by Nicole Suhre, St. Tammany Hospital Foundation executive director

The campaign’s sophomore effortwill get started Sept. 30, with a special appearance of the bus and a pink-wrapped Sheriff’s Office vehicle – which people will be able to sign in exchange for a nominal donation to local cancer care – in the St. Tammany Parish Fair Parade.

That will be followed by a launch event at the Southern Hotel with guests of honor including the St. Tammany Health System Board of Executives and Sheriff Randy Smith.

From there, a monthlong calendar of giveback events will take place all over the parish. Local businesses in the community have lined up to become “Pink Partners” by hosting fundraising events, all of which will benefit patient care provided at the cancer center and the St. Tammany Health System Women’s Pavilion. (Other ways to support the campaign include purchasing this year’s breast cancer awareness shirt or making a donation online.)

Additionally, the Be Will Bus will embark on a monthlong tour of the parish, where it will visit health clinics, festivals and other community events to offer convenient mammograms to local residents.

Most insurance programs cover annual mammograms, meaning no out-of-pocket costs for those being screened. Through donor support, the foundation provides financial assistance to cover mammograms on the Be Well Bus for patients without health insurance.

For those who can’t make it to any of the Be Well Bus’ screening events, the St. Tammany Health System Women’s Pavilion will also observe extended hours every Wednesday in October, with a $99 cash special on mammograms.   

“Breast cancer awareness is a big deal, and so we figured we’d go big with our breast cancer awareness campaign,” St. Tammany Hospital Foundation Executive Director Nicole Suhre said. “Last year, the community responded with resounding support, and we can’t wait to build on it this year and continue our mission of delivering world-class healthcare close to home – including potentially life-saving mammograms – for everyone on the Northshore.”




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