Local essayist wins D.C. trip
December 4, 2012Lafourche council amends, approves $55M budget
December 4, 2012
Breast cancer awareness month has come and gone for 2012, but Terrebonne General Medical Center plans to keep awareness on the streets, literally, with its Early Bird Mobile Medical Unit.
“So far this year, we have screened 650 people for breast, oral, prostate, skin and colorectal cancer with our Early Bird Mobile Medical Unit,” said Amy Ponson, director of development for TGMC’s Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. “Seventy of the screens came back abnormal, and five people were diagnosed with cancer.”
The hospital’s Early Bird Mobile Medical makes 12 stops a year and, on Saturday, local women lined up at Save-a-Lot on Houma’s east side to receive one of 50 free screenings funded by a raffle hosted by Dr. Sarah Haydel of Haydel Dermatology in Houma and her daughter Brooke.
“My babysitter took my daughter to the Susan G. Komen cancer walk two years ago,” the mother said. “The walk of breast cancer survivors inspired her, and she asked, “What can we do to help?”
This is the third year the Haydels have hosted the raffle that helps pay for screenings for women who do not have health coverage, and they hope to bring the raffle up to $15,000 from last year’s $12,000 tally. This year’s raffle will feature two top prizes – a chartered speckled trout fishing trip and a $3,500 makeover package. The winner will be announced the winner at TGMC’s Ladies Night Out in March
“My great grandmother was a 37-year breast cancer survivor,” Brooke said. “She found out through early detection by doing self exams.”
Vickie Williams of Houma also knows the importance of early detection. Her sister Joycelyn Cheramie was diagnosed with cancer 11 years ago and has gone through a total mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation.
“It is important to get a mammogram every year,” Williams, who was taking advantage of the Haydel’s generosity for the third year in a row, said. “We need to be aware of how many women fight this disease every year. I would not be able to have a mammogram without the Early Bird Mobile Medical Unit. I have come to this the past two years. I appreciate it very much.”
“Early detection is the best detection,” she said. “It helps increase your chances of survival.”
Vickie Williams, Brook Haydel and Dr. Sarah Haydel stand in fron of Terrebonne General Medical Center Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Early Bird Mobil Detection Unit. Williams was one of 50 local women who received a breast cancer screening funded by a raffle hosted by the Haydels.
