Mahaska Health Partnership Raises Awareness Of Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Awareness participants took to Penn Central Mall on Friday because the weather outside was rainy and cool.

Breast Cancer Awareness participants took to Penn Central Mall on Friday because the weather outside was rainy and cool.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The weather in Oskaloosa was less than pleasant on Friday for the annual fundraiser and awareness walk around the square to support breast cancer procedures.

With the rain falling and the colder than normal temps, the walk was moved inside the friendly confines of Penn Central Mall.

Julie Hartke is the Director of Radiology at Mahaska Health Partnership, and she took the time to speak with Oskaloosa News about how the walk supports mammograms for women in the community.

“We love to create awareness about how impactful breast cancer is in our own community,” said Hartke, referencing the 2500 pink flags on the square representing all the new cases of breast cancer in the State of Iowa this year.

“Most of us can think of, or know someone in our lives that has dealt with that disease, so I think it affects more and more people around us,” added Hartke. “We want people to know that we have this screening that’s done early, if we can find the disease early, we can have that 95% survival rate for those people. We want to save as many of those lives as we can.”

The walk helps to create more awareness of the disease, but it also serves as an outlet to those who have been impacted by the disease.

T-Shirts were available to those walking, with the money raised from the shirt sales going to help women in the community to fund free mammograms for those individuals with financial need.

Mahaska County is a community in need of assistance in helping to provide mammograms. “We continue to be surveyed as a community of great financial need. That we are an underserved population. We want to make sure we are reaching out to as many people as we can,” added Hartke.

Hartke said that those in need of a mammogram that have financial constants could call [641.672.3322] or stop by the radiology department at Mahaska Health Partnership for a simple application. “We don’t require any documentation for it. It’s a simple application process, and we can get them hooked up with services,” added Hartke.

Breast cancer is not a women-only disease, “there are a percentage of our men population who are affected as well,” explained Hartke. “That’s a huge stigma in our population as well. They need screening as well if they are having an issue or a lump or something they feel is abnormal. They should see their provider and get hooked up with screening as well.”

When it comes to preventative measures for breast cancer, Hartke said that a healthy lifestyle would help to mitigate the risk. Those choices would include a healthy diet, exercise, reductions in stress, work schedule, rest, and a balance between work and family life.

Mahaska Health Partnership is hosting a Women’s Health Night on Tuesday night at the Gateway Church of the Nazarene. Doors open at 5 pm and the program starts at 6:30 pm.

Registrations are available at the door. It’s all available for a $5 donation which goes to help fund the free mammography fund.

Mahaska Health Partnership CEO Kevin DeRonde is back in Oskaloosa and enjoyed taking part in his 3rd walk.

“What a fantastic support for cancer patients and making awareness, and plus the t-shirts are super comfy this year,” said DeRonde.

Cancer and the treatment of cancer is a big part of the health care system today, and DeRonde says that the screening is important for patients, and says that the staff at MHP does a great job with helping their patients get screened.

“For me personally, my Dad’s a three-time cancer survivor. I lost my brother at 40 due to lung cancer,” explained DeRonde of the impact cancer has on families.”It’s very personal to me.”

“One of the things we are looking at too at MHP is expanding our cancer services and offering more infusion service options,” explained DeRonde.

Looking down the road, DeRonde says events like a Men’s Health Walk may help to bring more awareness, “start getting our men involved in some wellness screenings.”

“We’re just thankful for today and the walk,” said DeRonde of the successful event. “I just want to thank the team of clinicians and providers who provide that cancer care.”

Posted by on Oct 14 2018. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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