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HerMIstOnHeraLd.cOM • A13
Cancer:
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and to spread awareness,”
Baker said.
The Umatilla Cham-
ber of Commerce is sell-
ing pink patch shirts in
honor of Huxel, Baker said,
and all the proceeds go to
the Kick’n Cancer New
Beginnings Program out of
Pendleton.
Caitlin Cozad, market-
ing and communications
director for Good Shepherd
Health Care System, said
awareness and early detec-
tion are crucial to breast
cancer care.
Good Shepherd patient
and breast cancer survivor
Michelle Little agreed that
it is important for women
to get annual mammograms
and perform self-breast
exams often.
“I am fortunate to have
Dr. Leila Keeler as my
OB/GYN at Good Shep-
herd Women’s Center, who
understood the importance
of annual women’s exams
and mammograms,” Little
said.
Little said breast can-
cer does not run in her fam-
ily and she went two years
without a mammogram
or an annual well-woman
exam until her daughter,
who works at the Good
Shepherd Women’s Center,
encouraged her to make an
appointment.
“At my appointment, Dr.
Keeler suggested I have a
mammogram since it had
been so long since my
last one. I’m thankful she
suggested having it done
because the mammogram
detected early breast can-
cer,” Little said.
Between her mammo-
grams and the biopsy, Little
said she looked closer and
noticed a small indent on
the underside of her breast,
which happened to be the
side that the cancer was
detected.
“The care I received
from Dr. Keeler and the
entire Women’s Center
staff during my journey
“BEING BREAST AWARE BASICALLY MEANS
KNOWING HOW YOUR BREASTS FEEL AND LOOK
SO THAT YOU CAN BE AWARE WHEN SOMETHING
CHANGES.”
Cynthia Hodge, an advanced registered nurse practitioner at Mirasol Family Health
was beyond exceptional,”
Little said. “Dr. Keeler
answered all of my ques-
tions and gave me peace of
mind and I understood what
was ahead of me.”
Little said her treatments
included surgery to remove
the cancer and 30 rounds
of radiation, but she didn’t
need chemotherapy.
“My breast cancer treat-
ment was minimal due to
early detection,” Little said.
“I’m thankful for the rela-
tionship I had built through
this journey with Dr. Kee-
ler and the Good Shepherd
Women’s Center staff.”
Cynthia Hodge, an
advanced registered nurse
practitioner at Mirasol
Family Health, said her
clinic recommends bien-
nial breast cancer screening
for women at 50 years of
age; however, for women
who have increased risk
of developing breast can-
cer, they may need earlier
screening.
“It is a good idea to dis-
cuss these risks with your
medical provider to have
an individualized screening
plan created,” Hodge said.
Women have long been
told to do self-examina-
tions to detect abnormali-
ties. Hodge said although
monthly breast self-exam-
inations are no longer rec-
ommended, evidence on
the frequency of self-detec-
tion of breast cancer pro-
vides a strong rationale for
women to be breast aware.
Hodge said, “Being
breast aware basically
means knowing how your
breasts feel and look so
that you can be aware when
something changes.”
While early detection is
key to improving survival
rates, Hodge said women
can work to prevent getting
cancer by living a healthy
lifestyle. She said accord-
ing to the Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Preven-
tion, research has shown
that being overweight can
increase the risks for cer-
tain cancers, including
breast cancer.
“We recommend a
healthy lifestyle to maintain
a healthy weight,” Hodge
said.
When women do get
breast cancer, Hodge said
the treatments have greatly
improved over the past sev-
eral decades. She said the
implementation of genomic
testing has improved both
screening guidelines and
treatment protocols.
“It is now known that
breast cancer can be divided
into subtypes that respond
differently to various types
of treatment,” she said.
Overall, Hodge said,
breast cancer mortality has
improved during the past
30 years, which can be
attributed toward improve-
ments in treatment and ear-
lier detection.
At
Tri-Cities
Can-
cer Center in Kennewick,
Washington, Ken Gamboa,
director of marketing and
business development, said
things looked different for
Breast Cancer Awareness
month this year.
“We typically hold large
events for education and
awareness,” Gamboa said.
“This year almost every-
thing was online.”
Overall, Gamboa said,
the cancer center — which
has an office in Hermiston
— is promoting the impor-
tance of patients getting in
to their doctors for their
cancer screenings.
“Many have held off due
to COVID-19,” he said.
The one event held this
year was on Oct. 22 when
the center hosted an online
community
education
event, “Breast Cancer —
Awareness Can Equal Pre-
vention.” Gamboa said the
session was recorded and
will be available on the
center’s website.
For the center, every day
is focused on cancer aware-
ness, including breast can-
cer. Its mammogram cou-
pon program is available
at any time and offers free
screening or ultrasounds
for uninsured women, per a
referral from a primary care
physician.
To help fund mammo-
grams, the center has a part-
nership with Speck Family
Dealerships in the Tri-Cit-
ies called “Drive for a
Cure.” For every new car
sold, the dealership donates
a mammogram for a woman
in the area.
The Tri-Cities Can-
cer Center offers informa-
tion to keep patients safe,
including brochures, hats
and scarves, available for
curbside pickup, and is
able to assist with mastec-
tomy bras and breast pros-
theses. Gamboa said if
patients from Hermiston
need resources or informa-
tion, in many cases they
can be brought on Mondays
when its satellite office is
open on the Good Shepherd
campus.
Another ongoing pro-
gram is the center’s vir-
tual Breast Cancer Sup-
port Group that meets the
first and third Friday of
each month from 9 a.m.
to 11 a.m. To join, call the
center’s patient navigator,
Cindy, at 509- 737-3418.
81600 Highway 395 North
Hermiston, OR 97838
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