Ahead of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Ozarks Healthcare Foundation is bringing back its mum sale to benefit the Foundation’s initiative to purchase a mobile mammography unit in 2022 to help make routine screenings more accessible for women who might not otherwise have access to this service.
“Last year, we encouraged community members to help us make their porches pink (or any fall mum color) to show support for breast cancer awareness,” Josh Reeves, Vice President of Development at Ozarks Healthcare, said. “This year, our excitement is the same, if not more ahead of October, as we try to finish our fundraising for a mobile mammography unit. We hope our community members will consider supporting a meaningful cause while decorating for fall this year.”
Mums are available in several varieties for $15. Cash, check, or credit card are accepted forms of payment. Those wishing to purchase a mum may pick up in person outside the Ozarks Healthcare Foundation at #12 Parkway Center in West Plains anytime Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. All proceeds from the sale will benefit the Foundation’s initiative to purchase a mobile mammography unit in 2022 for Ozarks Healthcare.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the U.S. (some kinds of skin cancer are the most common). Finding breast cancer early reduces risk of death from the disease by 25-30% or more. Women should begin having mammograms yearly at age 40, or earlier if they’re at high risk. Annual mammograms are the best way to detect breast cancer in its earliest, most curable stages. Many women put off getting a mammogram due to inconvenience. Studies also show women who are underinsured or uninsured are 35 percent more likely to have a mammogram offered by a mobile mammography unit versus going to an outpatient setting.
The Ozarks Healthcare Foundation, established in 1998 as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) with a local board of directors, serves as a liaison between donors and Ozarks Healthcare to assist the hospital in providing excellent healthcare to the communities it serves. For more information or to make a gift to the Ozarks Healthcare Foundation, please call 417-853-5200 or visit https://www.ozarkshealthcare.com/support-us/foundation/.