Celebrate Giving Tuesday with The Rose

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving that everyone is invited to participate in. Today, we're asking our community to support The Rose in any way you can. Here are a few ways you can join in on #GivingTuesday:

1. Make a Donation

Every donation to The Rose helps provide women with access to quality breast health care. A donation of $150 helps to sponsor a mammogram for one woman in need. Donate here.

Have you heard George’s story of how a $1 donation traveled 800 miles to The Rose? Read it here.

2. Schedule a Mammogram

Every 3 insured women who have a mammogram at The Rose help provide 1 uninsured woman with a mammogram. We encourage you to schedule your annual appointment with us and invite two of your friends to do the same. Request an appointment.

3. Spread the Word

We ask that you spread the word about The Rose to your friends and family. You can ask your friends to donate or schedule their mammogram with us, or you can share information about the importance of annual screenings and early detection.

Studies show women often put personal needs on hold while tending to the needs of others. Many women cite cost and lack of access as reasons they delay preventive services. Yet, early detection mammography screenings are the most powerful weapons in the fight against breast cancer - which is 98% curable when detected early.

Want to learn more about The Rose? Download The Women of The Rose for Amazon Kindle today.

The Power Of A Dollar

George was delivering a new replacement mammography van for our Mobile Unit 1, driving from Phoenix, Arizona to Houston. Our logo and the van’s bright pink color sparkled in the sunshine and could be seen for miles. About 20 miles outside of El Paso, he stopped at a service station. While waiting for the tank to fill, a very beat-up pick-up truck pulled up beside him. The driver reached out of his window and pushed a waded, partly torn dollar bill into George’s hand. In broken English he said, “For The Rose!” George, stunned, tried to explain that he was just a driver and that he didn’t actually work for The Rose. The man continued to talk and finally George understood: The Rose had cared for his mother. At the man’s insistence that The Rose needed this $1 bill, George accepted the crumpled bill and sat it on the dashboard. After an 800 mile trip, he arrived safely at The Rose with the dollar bill and a touching story to share.

The Infinity of Giving

At The Rose, we reduce deaths from breast cancer by providing access to screening, diagnostics, and treatment services to any woman regardless of her ability to pay. Women often find The Rose during a time of need in their life and because of the treatment they receive through us, are able to go on to make a better life for themselves, cancer-free.  Family members and friends of these women and others, also feel the care The Rose provides to their loved one.

Many times, the same men and women who are touched by The Rose during their time of need make a special effort to give back to The Rose. Some events from friends and family that have become special contributors to The Rose include 30 for Ana and Jump for The Rose.

Other times, friends and family remember the warmth that The Rose gave to their family and give what they can, even if it’s $1. Each contribution, no matter the size, is valued by The Rose. With each dollar, we can provide more women with access to quality breast health care.

Statement of The Rose Concerning ACS New Recommendations

At The Rose, we will continue to encourage women to have annual screenings starting no later than age 40. We concur with the "American College of Radiology (ACR) and Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) which continue to recommend that women get yearly mammograms starting at age 40."

We are deeply concerned that the recommendations released by the American Cancer Society will lead women to question the value of mammograms and the importance of early detection. 

Based on our clinical experience, we know women between the ages of 40 and 44 do benefit from screening. Over the past three years, 24% of all our diagnosed patients (398 of a total of 1659) were in the 40 to 49 year old range.  Of those 398 women, 173 fell in the 40-44 year old range.  But the most revealing and concerning statistic from our diagnosed population is that 40% of those in the 40-44 year old range were diagnosed at stage 2B and over—the majority of those had never had a mammogram or had not had annual screenings.

While we appreciate the process involved in ACS determining their new recommendations, we have to point out that the new ACS guidelines still support annual screening for women ages 40 to 44 who want it. 

Unfortunately, not every woman who wants a mammogram can have one, some battle against financial limitations and are not insured; others do not have a physician with whom they can discuss their risk factors and still others deal with no access to care because of transportation issues or lack of facilities offering mammography services—especially in areas of rural Texas. 

It should be noted that one-third of women who should be screened do not access these service, meaning that all necessary steps should be taken to ensure that women do not face economic or other barriers when their healthcare providers recommend screening. These recommendations provide more confusion and will incentivize insurance companies to not cover mammograms, which would mean that even fewer women would potentially be screened.

Based on our experience after 30 years of serving women, we absolutely believe that we must continue to encourage women to take care of themselves and have annual screenings.  We simply cannot afford to lose the ground we’ve gained over these many years with the advances in digital technology and widespread awareness.  Too many lives are at stake—especially young lives.  

Click here to read the ACR and SBI's response.

Young Woman Thought It Could Never Happen to Her

By Rae Miller

Nothing makes time stand still like finding a lump in your breast.
Even though you're frozen, your fingers are still pushing, prodding, palpating.
But you're young. You're busy. It's probably nothing you tell yourself.
So you wait.

"I found a lump, and I didn't deal with it," said Spring Branch resident Melissa Strong, 29. "I waited a whole year. And then found out I had cancer." Not only did Strong, who is the mother of a four-year-old boy, think she was too young to have breast cancer, she thought she was too young for a mammogram.

According to The Rose, a Houston nonprofit organization that provides screening, diagnosis and access to treatment regardless of a patient's ability to pay, you might be too young for a mammogram, but you're not too young for breast cancer.

That's why The Rose established the Young Women's Clinic, specifically for females 35 and younger. According to the American Cancer Society, there are more than 250,000 women living in the United States who were diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40 or younger. Next year, 10,000 more will be diagnosed.

Last year, of the 335 women The Rose diagnosed with breast cancer, 37 were under the age of 40. Of those, 34 had no insurance. Strong was one of them. Her physician referred her to The Rose – a perfect fit because that's where Strong met Dr. Janet Hoagland, who believes "if we save the mother, we save the family."

Hoagland said patients need a physician's referral before coming to the Young Women's Clinic, but if she does not have a primary care physician, The Rose has a network of physicians who will provide a referral at little cost. "Most young women are uninsured," Hoagland said. "Young people figure they don't need insurance yet. So even if they have the ability to insure themselves, they often don't."

Once at the Young Women's Clinic, the patient receives a clinical breast exam and an ultrasound. Hoagland said ultrasound is a better screening tool for younger breasts, which due to density can cause a mammogram to look like "a snowstorm," not providing enough detail.

But that's not to say a mammogram won't be ordered. Strong had an ultrasound and a mammogram, both on the same day. "My rule of thumb is that the breast is mature after the first full pregnancy," Hoagland said. "We do a mammogram if the patient fits into that category, or is over the age of 30 or has family history."

Strong's grandmother died of breast cancer. "Family history is a big, red flag," Hoagland said. "A red flag cannot be ignored." Yet almost 80 percent of breast cancer occurs in women who do not have any genetic factors. If it's cancer, Hoagland puts her uninsured patient in the care of a Patient Navigator at The Rose.

"Some doctors will tell you 'yeah you have cancer, figure it out yourself,'" Strong said. "The Rose, they don't do that. I didn't have to get in that long line to get Medicaid and get denied 300 times. And I didn't have to wait 500 years to get in to M.D. Anderson. It was very soothing and eased my mind a lot."

Strong underwent six months of chemotherapy, followed by a double mastectomy, because she tested positive for the BRCA 2 cancer gene and also underwent radiation. "I think if I had gone when I first felt the lump, it still would have been small enough that I wouldn't have needed radiation," Strong said. "Not to get on my soapbox or anything, but if you feel something, go to your doctor. If the doctor brushes you off, go to another doctor."

Hoagland couldn't agree more. "The woman knows her own breast the best," Hoagland said. "If she says something is different, it's different."

But different doesn't necessarily mean cancer. Ultrasound will show whether a lump is solid or filled with fluid. If it's fluid-filled, it's generally a cyst, which will collapse the moment Hoagland aspirates it with a thin needle. Hard nodules that stick around might be fibroadenomas, a type of noncancerous tumor that is quite common in young women.

"Some women are just fibroadenoma-makers," Hoagland said. "If the fibroadenoma is less than three centimeters, and there are no other risk factors, we follow them every six months for two years to make sure it's not growing. You have them your whole life unless they are surgically removed."

Breast tissue changes that are cyclical, meaning lumps and bumps that come and go on a monthly basis, can often be treated by limiting caffeine intake. Hoagland always enjoys the opportunity to educate young women about breast health.
"There are no silly questions; there are no stupid questions," Hoagland said. "We don't treat people like hypochondriacs.
"While we don't know how to prevent breast cancer, we do know how to detect it early. And women who are proactive are the women who do better."

The Young Women's Clinic is open from noon to 4 p.m. weekdays at The Rose Galleria, 5420 West Loop South, Suite 3300, Bellaire; and from noon to 3 p.m. every Friday and every other Thursday at The Rose Southeast, 12700 N. Featherwood, Suite 260 in Houston.

For more information, call 281-484-4708 or visit The Rose website, www.the-rose.org.

Click Here to see the original article on Click2Houston.com.

Hard Rock Houston Rocks Pinktober in Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Hard Rock Houston Rocks Pinktober, benefitting The Rose, Houston's leading non-profit breast cancer organization.
Two performances:

The Slags & Love Street Light Circus

Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 9:00 PM CDT (8:30 PM Doors)
Hard Rock Cafe - Houston
in Houston, TX

Tickets: $10.00

Kady Malloy & Low Man's Joe
Thursday, Oct 22, 2009 9:00 PM CDT (8:30 PM Doors)
Hard Rock Cafe - Houston
in Houston, TX
Tickets: $10.00

For more information or to buy tickets, please click here.

Check out The Rose on KPRC Houston!

At 31 years old, Cindy Ayure learned she had stage 3 breast cancer.

"Everybody asks, 'Why me?' or 'That's not fair' or 'I don't want to die,'" said Ayure. "All those things kind of go through your head."

The mother of two has been through a year-long battle with her illness.

"I picked myself up, and I fought and I'm fighting," said Ayure. "I can safely say I haven't cried since that day."

But Ayure may have never learned she had cancer in time for treatment without the help of one local organization.

When Ayure first discovered a lump in her breast, a mammogram was too expensive. Even though she worked two jobs, she could not afford health insurance.

That's when a doctor referred her to The Rose, a local nonprofit that screens women for breast cancer regardless of their financial situation...

Click Here to watch the news story by KPRC reporter Alana Gomez Dong.

Stories of Hope

The Rose is embarking on a new project for our waiting room. We’d like to showcase breast cancer survivor photos and stories of hope in our waiting area to show women and men, who may be anxious, that breast cancer is not a death sentence. We are currently looking for breast cancer survivors who would like to be part of this special project.

All participants will be asked to come to The Rose for a 30 minute professional photo session. They may also bring any close family members who they would like to have their photo taken with (up to 5 additional people unless special permission is granted). CDs of the photos will be mailed to participants after their session.

If you or someone you know would like to be a part of this project, please e-mail Maggie Phillips at mphillips@therose.org or call 281.464.5151.

More ways to support The Rose: GoodSearch.com

You can raise money for the The Rose just by searching the Internet at GoodSearch.com.

You use GoodSearch.com like any other search engine - the site is powered by Yahoo! - but each time you do, money is generated for us.

Here’s how it works:
1. Go to http://www.goodsearch.com
2. Type The Rose (Houston, TX) into the “I support” box and click on “verify”
3. Search the Internet just like you would with any search engine
4. Since GoodSearch shares its advertising revenue with charities and schools, every time you search the Internet at GoodSearch, you’ll be earning money for us.
GoodSearch also has a toolbar you can download from the homepage so that you can search right from the top of your browser. http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/

You can keep track of our estimated earnings by clicking on “amount raised” once you designate us as your organization of choice. The more people who use the site, the more money we’ll earn, so please spread the word!!