THIS RACE IS A TEAM EFFORT Valley organizations fi ghting breast cancer

TEAM EFFORT

Valley organizations work together in the race against breast cancer

Story by Jean Knouse

Any friend or family member who has held the hand of a woman who had an "iffy" mammogram knows the fear and anxiety that fills their lives until a final diagnosis is reached.

After further testing, those who are "cleared" are elated, while those who learn they are going to face the challenge of treatment for breast cancer are filled with a variety of thoughts: "I can't have breast cancer, I'm not sick!" "Why me?" "I'm going to die." "I don't have time to have breast cancer!" "I don't want to lose my hair!"

According to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, "an estimated 287,850 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the U.S in 2022, making it the most common cancer in American women. Every two minutes a woman in the U.S. is diagnosed with the disease."

Whether someone reacts to a diagnosis with denial or acceptance, treatment is required and if you live in the Valley, you are very lucky because the good news is there is good news.

While advances in research, diagnosis and treatment have generally been developed at the national level,— often with participation from local researchers — the results of those efforts are available locally thanks to dedicated staffs and the breast care centers at Evangelical Community Hospital and Geisinger Medical Center. The "race" to make breast cancer a thing of the past is not over, but the dedicated researchers, physicians, supporting staff and everyone who contributes to a patient's diagnosis, treatment and care have made the race competitive.

The folks who work to raise the money for research, diagnosis, treatment and the best care possible for every person who participates in this "race to the cure" are often overlooked members of the team dedicated to ending breast cancer — finally.

EVANGELICAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

At Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg, the Thyra M. Humphreys Center for Breast Health, which opened in 2000, is a valuable resource for anyone needing the services of a breast health specialist. "The Thyra M. Humphreys Center for Breast Health offers expert diagnostic services and care in a supportive, comfortable setting for women with healthy breasts as well as those who are experiencing breast-health issues. We understand that finding your way through the healthcare system can be challenging and stressful. That’s why our compassionate, caring team of healthcare professionals is with you every step of the way, from routine breast exams and screening mammograms to follow

up testing, biopsies, surgery, treatment, and recovery," according to Evangelical Community Hospital website.

A major gift from Thyra M. Humphreys contributed to the establishment of the Center for Breast Health which is named in her honor.

Thyra M. Humphreys was born in 1907 in Indiana. At the time of her birth, her mother was reading a book on Scandinavian mythology.

Thyra was the name of a 10th century queen of Denmark and her namesake was the valedictorian of her high school class and attended Oxford College in Ohio. She later graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in history.

When she traveled east on a bus trip — with other young ladies — she met her future husband, Albert E. Humphreys. After marrying in 1930, they lived in Watkins Glen, N.Y., where Al was a football coach at Cook Academy. The Humphreys moved to Lewisburg in 1937 so her husband could accept the head football coaching position at Bucknell University. In the years following her husband's death in 1962, Mrs. Humphreys was an active member of Beaver Memorial United Methodist Church, the Lewisburg Garden Club, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Lewisburg Civic and Women's Clubs and the hospital auxiliary, where she served as treasurer.

Thyra M. Humphreys died in 2007 at the age of 99.

According to Andrea Bertram, Operations Director, Women’s Health and Cancer Services, at Evangelical Community Hospital, "for men and women who are uninsured or underinsured, the Thyra M. Humphreys Center for Breast Health at Evangelical Community Hospital is able to provide financial assistance. In many cases, assistance comes in the form of free screening and diagnostic 3D mammograms. The Center also offers whole breast ultrasound screening for patients with dense breast tissue and diagnostic ultrasound to qualifying patients.

The free screens provided are made possible through the generosity of our community, through individual donations and the proceeds from annual events like Cookin’ Men."

THYRA M. HUMPHREYS MARIE LAMEY

COOKIN' MEN

On October 27, 2022, the Cookin’ Men Event, which benefits the Thyra M. Humphreys Center for Breast Health at Evangelical Community Hospital, will return to the Rusty Rail Brewing Company in Mifflinburg. In 2021, the event raised more than $50,000 for the Center.

Photo provided

GEISINGER HEALTH SYSTEM

Dr. Rosemary Leeming was instrumental in the planning and implementation of the Geisinger Center for Women’s Imaging and Breast Health. It opened two years ago in the midst of the pandemic at the Geisinger campus on Woodbine Lane, Danville. The facility features 10 dedicated exam rooms, two consultation rooms, three mammography rooms, two ultrasound rooms, and stereotactic rooms. Patients can go to Woodbine for breast concerns, high-risk exams, image-guided biopsies and ultrasound imaging to name a few of the services. Marie Denise Lamey died in 2011. She was 50 years old. She was born in 1961 in Danville, and, at her death, she had been married for 27 years to John Lamey. Marie graduated from Pennsylvania State University as a registered nurse. She was employed by Geisinger Medical Center for 30 years and worked in the breast clinic at Geisinger, the precursor of the Center for Women's Imaging and Breast Health, for more than 20 years. "She was caring and devoted to her patients and would go out of her way for anyone," said her Remembrance in the Daily Item. Her friends remembered Marie as an excellent baker and cook. She enjoyed the outdoors — fishing, foraging for mushrooms and spending time with her flowers. But, as is often noted in the Remembrance of a special person, "she loved spending time with her friends and her family."

THE MARIE LAMEY ENDOWMENT AT THE GEISINGER FOUNDATION

When Marie Lamey died of breast cancer at the much-too-young age of 50, her friends and colleagues established an endowment in her memory at the Geisinger Foundation. There are many ways to support breast cancer care at Geisinger. Through donations we fund various programs such as research efforts, genomic studies, physician innovation, bedside care, education and outreach efforts, and support groups, shared Nancy G. Lawton, Chief Philanthropy Officer. The interest generated each year by the Marie Lamey Endowment Fund at the Geisinger Foundation is used to “cover medical expenses for un- or underinsured women with breast disease and expenses for exceptional needs.”

In the Valley, the TaTa Trot generated thousands of dollars to support both of these programs. Since the pandemic, it has not been held. Perhaps it is time to reorganize and join the race or to organize an event that will make our friends and relatives confident there will continue to be good news in the fight against breast cancer.

Photo provided

THE SUSAN G. KOMEN FOUNDATION

Founded in 1982

● Early 1950s: The NY Times refuses to publish an ad for a breast cancer support group stating that it would not print the words “breast” or “cancer.” ● 1969:The modern mammogram is invented. ● 1970s: The standard treatment for breast cancer is a one-step surgical process in which a patient is put under anesthesia for a biopsy and, upon a positive result, is immediately subjected to a radical mastectomy without consultation. ● 1972: Shirley Temple Black becomes the first in a series of well-known figures to publicly announce a breast cancer diagnosis. ● 1974: First Lady Betty Ford openly discusses her diagnosis and mastectomy. Two weeks later, Second Lady Margaretta Rockefeller undergoes a double mastectomy. ● 1975: Breast cancer patient Rose Kushner challenges the standard one-step process, opts for a less-invasive modified mastectomy and publishes the details of her experience in Breast Cancer: A Personal History and Investigative Report. ● 1980: After a 3-year battle with breast cancer, Susan G. Komen dies at the age of 36. ● 1982: Nancy Brinker establishes the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. ● 1982:Komen awards its first research grant for $28,000 to Dr. Gary Spitzer at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ● 1983:The first Race for the Cure® takes place in Dallas, TX with 800 participants. ● 1984:Komen founder Nancy Brinker is diagnosed with breast cancer. ● 1986: The first Breast Cancer Awareness Month is held in October. ● 1991: Komen establishes the pink ribbon as a national symbol for the cause by distributing one to every participant in the NYC Race for the Cure®.

● 1992:Komen awards the first Brinker Awards for Scientific Distinction to Dr. Bernard Fisher, and Dr. V. Craig Jordan ● 1993:Fashion model Matushka exposes her mastectomy scar on the cover of New York Times Magazine. ● 1995:Race for the Cure® events take place in 57 U.S. cities ● 1996:The first breast cancer awareness stamp is issue by the U.S. Postal Service. ● 1998: The first international Race for the Cure® is held in Costa Rica. ● 2002:More than 1.3 million participate in over 100 Race for the Cure events in the U.S. and two other countries. ● 2007:Komen awards the first grant for the Komen Tissue bank, the only biorepository of its kind collecting normal breast tissue to study the causes and prevention of breast cancer. ● 2008: The Race for the Cure® celebrates its

25th anniversary. ● 2014: 150 Komen race events will be held worldwide, including in the U.S., The Bahamas, Belgium, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Puerto Rico and Tanzania. Source: Komen.org