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Tunnell Cancer Center awarded $92,860 grant to continue breast cancer outreach

April 10, 2013

Beebe Medical Foundation announces that the Philadelphia Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation has granted Beebe Medical Center’s Tunnell Cancer Center $92,860 to continue to fund a breast cancer outreach program that serves communities throughout Sussex County.

The program, Sharing Our Stories, Saving Our Sisters, provides free breast cancer screening and education to women in minority and underserved populations in Sussex County who might otherwise not receive the healthcare they need.

Cancer screening nurse navigators are based at Tunnell Cancer Center and Nanticoke Memorial Hospital, which has a cancer program that last year affiliated with Tunnell Cancer Center. These cancer nurse navigators reach out into the communities to educate women and help them get screenings and, when necessary, the treatment they may need for breast cancer.

These nurses work together with lay navigators - breast cancer survivors who volunteer to educate other women, to reach women who might not otherwise have sought medical attention. Since 2010, a total of more than 5,000 women have received education and other services through the program.

“Sharing Our Stories, Saving Our Sisters is a program that reflects our vision at Beebe Medical Center of making Sussex County one of the healthiest counties in the nation,” said Cherrie Rich, executive director of Oncology Services at Beebe Medical Center. “It is supporting our efforts to increase awareness about cancer so women in these underserved populations will be screened earlier and receive medical care as soon as it is needed.”

The incidence of breast cancer for all women increases with age and is highest among white women; however, mortality rates are highest among African-American and Latina women. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the nation besides skin cancer. It also is the second leading cause of cancer death in women.

“We are extremely proud to announce that we have continued to receive this important grant,” said Jeffrey M. Fried, FACHE, president and CEO of Beebe Medical Center. “This reflects the recognition of the strong commitment of the Tunnell Cancer Center team to early diagnosis and prevention, as well as to high quality cancer treatment.”

Beebe Medical Center established Tunnell Cancer Center in 1995. It has received the Commission on Cancer's highest accreditation with commendation as a comprehensive community cancer center. Its clinical specialties are medical oncology/hematology and radiation oncology. It also offers a multidisciplinary approach for planning all cancer treatment.

Beebe Medical Center is a not-for-profit community medical center with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness and restore optimal health with the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities it serves. For more information, go to www.beebemed.org.

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