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.

Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund Awards Grant for Breast Cancer Awareness Program to The Rose

The Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund has awarded a $60,000 one-year grant to The Rose, a non-profit breast cancer organization, to increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of early detection of breast cancer. It is the seventh year that the program has received funding from the Avon Foundation for Women to support its work on this important health issue, and in recognition of the excellence of the program.

The breast health program at The Rose will educate Houston-area women and provide them with low or no cost mammograms and clinical breast exams through the Empower HerÒ Sponsorship Program. This program is vital because Houston ranks as the highest city in the nation for uninsured people.

Last year, The Rose provided 27,837 screening and diagnostic procedures for those able to pay; 15,680 screening and diagnostic procedures at no charge to low income, uninsured women; 7,621 free patient navigation services to other treatment patients without insurance. This program provides breast cancer detection services to those who cannot afford the costs of these potentially life saving procedures.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the U.S., and the leading single cause of death overall in women between the ages of 20 and 55. Nationwide, there is a new diagnosis every three minutes and a death from breast cancer every fourteen minutes. In the Houston area, one woman dies from breast cancer every day. While advances have been made in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure, early detection still affords the best opportunity for successful treatment. Programs such as the Empower HerÒ Sponsorship Program at The Rose help ensure that all women have access to early detection information and options, even poor and medically underserved women.

“We are so pleased that the Avon Foundation for Women shares our mission and has chosen to support our program. With these funds we will be able to serve hundreds of women—for some our services will mean saving their lives.” says Dorothy Weston Gibbons, The Rose Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

Since 1993, the Avon Foundation for Women has awarded more than 1,300 grants to community-based breast health programs across the United States, including The Rose Empower Her® Sponsorship Program at The Rose. These programs are dedicated to educating underserved women about breast cancer and linking them to early detection screening services.

The Avon Foundation for Women and Breast Cancer Crusade
The Avon Foundation for Women, an accredited 501(c)(3) public charity, was founded in 1955 to improve the lives of women and their families. Now past the half century milestone, the Foundation brings this mission to life through the Speak Out Against Domestic Violence program and the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which raises funds and awareness to advance access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer, with a focus on the medically underserved. Since 1992 the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade has raised and awarded more than $640 million worldwide for medical research; access to care; support services; screening and diagnostics; and education and awareness. The largest fundraising program in the U.S. is the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer series.

The Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund
The Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund is administered by Cicatelli Associates Inc. to support community-based, non-profit breast health programs across the country. The Fund's National Advisory Board selected the Empower Her® Sponsorship Program at The Rose as one of 125 new grant recipients nationwide in the 2010 cycle of Avon Foundation Breast Care Fund grants. These organizations were chosen based on their ability to effectively reach women, particularly minority, low-income, and older women, who are often medically underserved.
For more Information
For more information on the Empower Her® Sponsorship Program at The Rose, please call 281.484.4708 or visit www.TheRose.org. For more information about breast cancer, contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or www.cancer.org, or the National Cancer Institute at 1-800-4-CANCER or www.cancer.gov.

To learn more about the Avon Foundation for Women, call 1-866-505-AVON or visit www.avonfoundation.org, where you can also access the free printable Breast Health Resource Guide in English and Spanish. For information or to register or support the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer events, visit www.avonwalk.org or call 1-888-540-WALK.

The Rose Receives $1 Million CPRIT Grant;

The Rose received a $1 million award from The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) for its Empower Her to Care Program. The donation will fund cancer screening services to approximately 3,000 medically underserved women. A significant focus of this award is addressing “no show” problems.

“Every time a woman makes an appointment and then doesn’t keep it, we lose three times,” Dorothy Weston Gibbons, co-founder and chief executive officer, explains. “We lose her, we lose the chance for another woman to have that appointment and, most importantly, we lose the chance to detect cancer in either of them.”

Gibbons said the goal is to:

• Increase mammography screening rates 
• Increase first-time mammography screening of both African-American and Hispanic women
• Decrease no-show rates, and
• Ensure that all patients receive information about cervical cancer screening

“Our Empower Her to Care Project involves providing ‘care’ for more women by increasing capacity, maximizing resources and finding new, innovative ways to encourage screening that truly empower each woman to take ‘care’ of her health,” Gibbons said.

The Rose is one of many Houston-based nonprofit organizations to receive CPRIT grants this year. Others include but are not limited to HOPE Clinic, University of Houston and University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

“If we can figure out the reasons why women are not coming in, then we can better address the obstacles,” said Gibbons. “We are deeply grateful to CPRIT for this extraordinary opportunity to make a difference in our community.”

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas was established in 2007 when Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment authorizing the state to issue $3 billion in bonds to fund cancer research and prevention programs and services.

The donation is the largest ever received by The Rose and will be funded over a two-year period.

The Rose is the Houston area's leading 501(c)(3) non-profit breast cancer organization providing mammography screening, diagnosis, access to treatment and support to all women regardless of their ability to pay. For an appointment, call 281-484-4708 or 866-680-4708. Insured or not insured, you are welcome at The Rose. Call us today.

Southeast Houston’s Oldest and Largest Fundraising Event Benefiting The Rose – Back for 21st Year

An old-fashioned shrimp boil is what it is – but it’s also southeast Houston’s oldest and largest fundraising event and it’s back July 10 for the 21st year from 4 to 8:30 p.m. at the Pasadena Convention Center.
If you’re new to the area and not familiar with this down-home food fest, here’s what to expect:

• The Rose 2010 Shrimp Boil benefits one of the area’s most enduring charities – The Rose. The Rose is a nonprofit breast care organization that started in southeast Houston more than 24 years ago because women without insurance needed quality breast care.

• Today, The Rose provides mammograms for thousands of uninsured women all over the greater Houston area. Insured women also go to The Rose for their annual mammograms which helps offset the cost for women who can’t afford to pay.

• Co-founders of the organization, surgeon Dr. Dixie Melillo and The Rose CEO Dorothy Weston Gibbons, as always, will be at the Shrimp Boil meeting, greeting and thanking the 1000-plus supporters expected to show up.

Last year the shrimp boil raised more than $85,000 for The Rose. Sponsors who are already signed up for 2010 include Pinnacle Financial Strategies, Precision Radiotherapy Center, Phelps Insurance, Soroptimist International of Pasadena, Aaron and Bonnie Jones, Patrick and Dorothy Gibbons, Bayway Lincoln Mercury, Casa Ole, Texas Citizens Bank, Buffalo Flange, Bayou City Public Relations and Continental Airlines.

“We prominently display a sponsor’s name as a supporter of The Rose and the fight against breast cancer,” said Michelle Hanson event coordinator. “Even if a sponsor can’t attend, we still recognize them publicly and in print,” she said.

Another way for Houston businesses to support the event is to donate an item for the live and silent auctions.

“There’s room in the mix for prizes big and small,” Hanson said. “Participants will bid on everything from airline tickets and automobiles to free dinners at the area’s best eateries, to gift cards at favorite stores.”

“Additionally, we invite everyone to visit The Rose website (www.therose.org) to learn more about the many women we’ve assisted and the many lives we’ve helped save,” said Hanson.

For more information about The Rose 2010 Shrimp Boil and how to participate, call Hanson at (281) 464-5165 or contact her via e-mail at mhanson@therose.org.