Positively Pink, a cancer awareness and educational event hosted by Phelps Memorial Health Center, was held at the Sun Theater and Events Venue recently. Over 80 women were educated about available prevention screenings for cancer and were inspired by Ashli Brehm, an Omaha author, blogger, mother, wife, and cancer survivor.
Breast cancer is sometimes found after symptoms appear, but many women with breast cancer have no symptoms. This is why regular breast cancer screenings are so important.
Stacey VanBoening, APRN, Phelps Memorial Health Center, told attendees that starting at age 40 they should have a mammogram done on an annual basis. Stacey stressed prevention and how important it is to find cancer early.
She said, “Know your body, and if you are having a ‘not right feeling’ get to your medical provider and check it out.” She added that breast cancer is the number one cancer in women and the second leading cause of death in women. However, if caught early and it has not spread there is a 99% 5-year survival rate, she said.
The two biggest risk factors for breast cancer are “aging and the fact that we are women. We can’t change either of those but we can try to catch it early,” said Stacey. “I pray that someday my job is strictly cancer prevention. Until then we have to screen and catch it early.”
The American Cancer Society's estimates for breast cancer in the United States for 2022 are:
- About 287,850 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
- About 51,400 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) will be diagnosed.
- About 43,250 women will die from breast cancer.
Jacqueline Gilbert, Imaging Director, informed attendees that recent construction at the hospital will allow new services early 2023 that include stereotactic breast biopsy in mammography, vacuum assist breast biopsy in ultrasound, as well breast imaging MRI. She also noted that Phelps Memorial now has an in-house PET scanner.
Jacqueline said, “The Imaging team wants nothing more than to take care of you and your families and provide you with the best experience possible.”
The keynote speaker for the evening was Ashli Brehm who was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer at age 33. Throughout the evening she reflected on her life and experiences with breast cancer in a series of heartfelt and humorous vignettes.
Ashli had no family history of breast cancer. She felt a lump and thought “that’s weird” and had a bad feeling in her gut. She scheduled an appointment with her general practitioner who ordered the mammogram that very same day.
As she left for her mammogram, she recalled leaving her kids with the babysitter and thinking to herself “things are never going to be the same.”
She had her mammogram, ultrasound, and a biopsy which detected her cancer and led to a mastectomy followed by chemo and radiation treatments.
She expressed that some lessons from cancer have made her sad. Some have made her laugh. Others have made her shout profanity while others have made her feel free. She said she is now seven years past her diagnosis, but it changed the way she looks at her husband and family, and she is thankful every day.
Ashli said, “It’s okay to be positive, it’s okay to have a good outlook, let your guard down, and celebrate the little things when you are a survivor.”
She read an excerpt from her book “Wear the Damn Swimsuit” that said:
“I could have missed all of this. Any one of us could. But we are where we are for a reason, I believe. I don’t know all the reasons or ways that life is hard. But I know that the goodness, for me has made even the hardest parts survivable. Things could have easily gone very differently. But for me, they didn’t. And so I find myself thankful for the reminder that when the night falls, I lived another day.”
Pictured are: Jacqueline Crumley, Imaging Director, Stacey VanBoening, APRN, Tracie Elliott, Senior Vice President of Ancillary Services, and Ashli Brehm.
