A year ago, Cheryl Seelig of New London was diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer.
“If I had not completed my routine mammogram, the outcome could have been very bad,” she said, noting because doctors found it early, she had a lumpectomy and started an oral chemotherapy pill called Tamoxifin.
At ThedaCare Physicians-New London, Seelig, who is the clinic manager, wants to help patients catch cancer in time. She has started a competition among the staff at the clinic called “Who Has the Biggest Ta Ta’s?” “Each time a mammogram is scheduled, they get to place a pink ribbon sticker on the giant bra,” she said.
At the end of the week, she counts the number of pink stickers. “The cup size increases for every five mammograms scheduled,” she said, adding a team mascot is displayed for the week to support the team winning that week.
“It has created a lot of energy in the clinic,” said Seelig, who said there have been 39 mammograms scheduled in one week. “It is fun to see staff get engaged for breast cancer prevention.”
The winning team gets to choose a bar of choice to be set up for a lunch or snack: fruit bar, baked potato bar or yogurt bar.The competition runs until October 31.
A mammogram is an X-ray picture of the breast to help doctors look for early signs of breast cancer. It can help detect cancer sometimes up to three years before it can be felt.
The Centers for Disease Control recommend women have mammograms every two years from age 50 to 74 years. Talk to a health professional if there are any symptoms or changes in the breast, or if breast cancer runs in the family. Family history can determine if a mammogram is needed earlier.
If results are abnormal, additional testing, exams and mammograms would be needed, per recommendations from a breast specialist or surgeon.
