A Mammogram Could Save Your Life
For the second year in a row, Beacon Health Ventures finance team coordinated a mammogram drive in honor of their fellow associate, Sara Bell, who is now cancer free!
It has been 18 months since Sara, Payroll Coordinator at Beacon Health Ventures, was diagnosed with breast cancer. At that time, she opted for an aggressive bilateral mastectomy, and following surgery she received six weeks of radiation, along with nearly 10 months of chemotherapy. However, Sara’s chemo treatment was put on hold in December of 2014 due to heart complications. Initially, the plan was to let her heart rest for a month before resuming treatment. However, Sara pursued a second opinion. So, after additional testing, doctors decided to discontinue chemo and today Sara is 100 percent in remission!
“From day one, my manager and co-workers supported me,” explains Sara. “They have done so many wonderful things for me and my family. I will never forget their kindness and generosity.”
One way they have shown support is by participating in a mammogram drive, organized by Sara’s manager, Gretchen Manning, CPA, Manager of Finance, and Sherry Kienitz, Office Coordinator, Memorial Regional Breast Cancer Center. About 15 associates participated in the first mammogram drive, held in March 2014, and many participated this March as well.
“Gretchen had a wonderful idea … Not only was this a way for them to show support during my battle, but my situation motivated others to be screened, including some who had never had a mammogram,” says Sara. “We often get busy and don’t take time for ourselves, but every woman should be screened. I cannot express enough the importance of early detection. I often wonder how different the past 18 months would have been had I been screened and my cancer caught earlier than Stage III.”
