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Just for Women
Be a ‘Bosom Buddy’
Women can help each other practice good health habits, including mammograms
Peg Paulakovich of Nesquehoning hadn’t had a mammogram in 16 months. She didn’t get out much after her husband died, and with no history of breast cancer in her family she didn’t think it was important. But her daughter, Nancy Seislove, knew better. A mammographer for 30 years, Seislove knows that most breast cancers are found in people with no family history.
So one day while Seislove was taking her mother to other appointments, she brought her to Breast Health Services at Lehigh Valley Hospital for a mammogram. A suspicious finding led to an ultrasound and biopsy, and on her 76th birthday, Paulakovich learned she had breast cancer.
That was three years ago. She underwent a lumpectomy and radiation therapy, and has been well ever since. Seislove has now developed a program called Bosom Buddies to encourage women to support each other in getting regular mammograms.
“Women need to put their health first,” says Karen Sciascia, D.O., gynecologist at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. That means making time to exercise, eat right and get a yearly mammogram, breast and pelvic exam, and Pap test (for cervical cancer). Sciascia and two friends from medical school serve as each other’s exam “buddies.”
“Too often, women put themselves last on the list,” she says. “If your child needed a diagnostic test, you wouldn’t rest until she got one. The fact is, you deserve good health, too—and you’re better able to care for others when you yourself are in good shape.”
Want to Know More?
For a complete guide to mammography and breast health, call 610-402-CARE.
This page last updated 7/21/08 01:50 PM
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