HOUSTON – One in three women is diagnosed with breast cancer, but thanks to new research, better imaging, new chemotherapy drugs and more targeted therapy, the survival rate can be 98 percent with early detection.
A Houston nonprofit organization, The Rose, started a new program called Me 2, which encourages women to get their mammogram and bring along two friends.
The Rose chief executive officer and co-founder Dorothy Gibbons told Local 2, "I think it's one of those things that we put off any time that we can just so that we find excuses for it. Go and make it a fun day go and have lunch go have a mani-pedi, all the fun things that women can do, and just celebrate each other."
As executive director of Mission Centers of Houston, Ginger Smith focuses on meeting the needs of the impoverished in our community and just like many women, tends to put the needs of others before herself.
Smith told Local 2, "I had heard all this hype about how scary mammograms were and really I had developed this panic about it, but knew that I needed to do it anyway and I needed to push through it."
Turning 40 this year, she decided to get her first mammogram at The Rose.
She said, "It really wasn't that big of a deal. I was surprised that it wasn't that big of a deal."
The Me 2 program further helps The Rose provide screening, diagnostics and support at no cost to uninsured women in the Houston area.
Smith said next time she goes for a mammogram, she'll definitely bring along two buddies.
She explained, "I think it's a fantastic idea to do this in a team, to come together and make this a girls day, take care of ourselves, go have fun and do something that we really need and something that we really enjoy as well."