The 21st annual Fashions To A Tea – “Hats off to Survivors … Kentucky Derby Style” – was held Thursday, Oct. 11, at the Champaign County Fairgrounds.
The event was co-sponsored by Mercy Health-Urbana Hospital and Breast Friends Forever, a local group whose mission is: “To Educate, Empower, Encourage, and Embrace people who reside or work in Champaign County who are at risk for breast cancer, and provide services to Breast Cancer patients in need.”
Fashions to a Tea featured volunteer runway models who are local survivors of breast cancer: Jane McKeever, Ce Greene, Jan Blanton, Brenda Burns, Jordan Hux, Anna Delay, Valerie Smith, Kay Sine, Aurora Hopkins, Heather Smith and Holly Suchland.
Each model chose her own outfit and special Kentucky Derby hat to wear on the runway. A slideshow featuring each model’s life and journey were projected on a large screen while mistress of ceremonies Elle Spinner sang.
As the individual models participated in the fashion show, Spinner described each model’s journey to survivorship after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Some had endured extensive surgeries, reconstructions and chemotherapy sessions en route to the charity runway, some had a family history of the disease and others did not. Some submitted to genetic testing in order to assess their risk of recurrence. All were thankful to their friends and family for being by their side during a cancer battle and the upbeat Fashions to a Tea was treated as a celebration.
Pink moscato wine, virgin mint juleps, fruit-infused beverages and Hemisphere coffee were offered alongside bourbon pulled pork, chicken salad croissants, mandarin pecan salad, pasta salad and vegetarian dishes. The menu was catered by K Family Concessions. Dessert cupcakes were provided by Deb McGuire-Kauffman. The D.J. was Rich Ebert and Ethel’s Flowers donated the array of blooms. Graham agriculture students helped set up the elaborate event and Graham football players served as ushers.
Some funds raised from Fashions to a Tea were directed to help specific local breast cancer survivors, including a young student who is still in college and another woman with a young daughter. In addition, the local group donated $1,500 to Mercy Health imaging to assist uninsured women who need mammograms.
The silent auction provided one of many opportunities to raise money and encourage donations. Urbana Mayor Bill Bean read a proclamation to open the evening and Rev. Mimi Ault of the United Methodist Church in Mechanicsburg provided the invocation.
The guest speaker was Jyotha Challa, M.D., who is a medical oncologist with the OHC group in Springfield. Challa detailed the importance of mammography beginning at age 40, discussed imaging advances in breast cancer screening and focused part of her discussion on controllable factors that increase breast cancer risk. Women were encouraged to control the factors they can in order to minimize risk, including maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding cigarette smoking, limiting alcohol intake to no more than one drink a day and ensuring they are well-rested. Challa also discussed advances in chemotherapy for triple-negative tumors, long-term endocrine therapy to block cancer cells from growing, and the promise of immunotherapy as part of the path to a future cure. “Alternative” therapies used alone, rather than in complementary combination with valid conventional therapies for breast cancer, are “not evidence-based,” Challa said, and should not be relied upon to treat the disease.
Locally-based diagnostic and treatment services …
About Mobile Mammography:
Mercy Health – Springfield’s Mobile Mammography program has a traveling mobile unit offering screening mammograms in approximately 15 minutes at locations convenient to home or work. You can find upcoming screening locations by going to mercy.com/SpringfieldMobileMammo and scroll down to click on the “Upcoming Mobile Mammography Events” button.
Since launching in January 2017, more than 1,700 women have had screenings. Fifteen women received a positive cancer diagnosis. The vast majority of them have been Stage II or less, which is considered early.
Breast cancer has about a 99 percent survival rate if it is detected early and receives proper treatment. Mammography is the best tool for early detection.
Approximately 10 percent of screenings have been for women without insurance who have been able to receive a no-cost screening through the grants and donations held at the Mercy Health Foundation of Clark and Champaign counties.
While making an appointment guarantees that you will receive your screening, we do have a 40 percent walk-in rate, which reflects the convenience we offer patients by being out and about in the communities where they live and work.
Seven of the 15 breast cancer cases that we discovered during our mobile outreach screenings were in women who walked-in during that particular screening event!
The mobile unit offers traditional 2D imaging as well as advanced 3D imaging known as breast tomosynthesis.
Tomosynthesis can help increase the chance of detecting breast cancer early.
According to the Ohio Department of Health 2017 Cancer Profile, Champaign County’s mortality rate due to breast cancer is higher than the state and national average. We recommend that women educate themselves on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, get regular screenings and report any changes in their breasts to their doctors.
Mercy Health has financial need-based assistance programs available to help patients who are uninsured or underinsured (have high deductibles). Call 937-523-9332 for more information.
Patients can make an appointment for a screening on the mobile unit by calling 937-523-9332.
Businesses and organizations can arrange to have the mobile unit provide on-site screenings for employees and/or the community by calling 937-523-9330.
About Springfield Regional Cancer Center:
Springfield Regional Cancer Center, located at 148 W. North St., Springfield, Ohio, serves Clark, Champaign, Logan, Union, Madison, Greene and other surrounding counties. It offers state of the art cancer care, including radiation oncology and medical oncology. It has five medical oncologists and two radiation oncologists on staff.
Additionally, it offers support to cancer patients through a number of programs, including:
· Cancer Care Outreach Program (community education, screening and early-detection programming)
· Psychosocial support
· Cancer Resource Library
· Pink Ribbon Society Support Group
· American Cancer Society programs such as Look Good … Feel Better
· Appearance center offering a wig program as well as bra and prosthesis fittings
· Nutrition education
· Lymphedema education
· Massage
· On-site research RNs through a partnership with the Dayton Community Clinical Oncology Program
The center’s on-staff Breast Health Navigator, Tracy Adrian, a registered Nurse, assists patients from the beginning of their treatment through to when they ring the center’s bell to signal recovery and the completion of their treatment. She ensures that no one walks alone and remains by their side throughout treatment. When a patient receives a cancer diagnosis, Tracy is there to assist patients through the all the necessary steps they need to take. She helps them make contact with a surgeon, gives them information on what to expect through their treatment and answers questions about chemotherapy and radiation therapy, as well as their five-year follow up.
