Technology … And People … Making a Difference -- Day 8 of 25 Memories -- A Countdown to Our 25th Anniversary Gala by Dorothy Gibbons

Sometimes it only takes one person who is willing to help that moves a dream into reality. Ron Smith was one of those people. Ron was the owner of Diagnox Imaging Services and he offered to donate a fully dedicated mammography GE Imaging system, this included the X-ray machine, processor and conditioner--$160,000 worth of equipment.

He had made that offer to us in January of 1987 but we didn’t have a place to put it, and couldn’t possibly afford the staff to run it or supplies for it.  Dixie and I spent weekends scouting out possible locations for its home. 

She was like one of those early pioneers walking around with a divining rod looking for water.  We would pull up to a shopping center; she’d get out, and walk around, then say, “Nope, not it!” and hop back into the truck. We had lots of options to explore -- vacant office buildings were another fallout of the bad economy of the 80s.

Finally, we came across the South Green Shopping center, at Fuqua and the Gulf Freeway. We both liked something about that spot which started looking even better after the leasing agent said we could have a space for free for the first three months and after that, he’d charge us $3 for every paying woman we screened. We thought it was a heck of a deal, but then what did we know?

October 1987, the first Rose mammography center opened with a waiting list of sixty women.  Mammograms cost only $50 and a sponsorship program was available for high-risk women who couldn’t afford to pay.  Everything in the center had been donated, from furniture, to filing cabinets to the pictures on the wall.  We used to tease about being decorated in “early garage sale,” but it looked good.  The volunteers made it seem homey, the technical aspects were excellent, and the women felt comfortable. 

Except for the fact that we have traded in “garage sale” for “decorator-designed,” not much has changed. We still ensure that women – all women – are welcomed at The Rose.

In 25 years, we have had a fair share of “firsts” -- when we offered the first film screen mammography machines in Houston, the first Computer Aided Detection (CAD) service in 2001, and the first portable mammography unit launching our mobile program in 2006. Now, every time we experience another technological milestone – the most recent being our conversion to digital - I’m reminded of Ron’s initial gift. And I am grateful once again.

This memory is one of 25 short stories written by Dorothy Gibbons, the Co-founder and CEO of The Rose, a nonprofit breast cancer organization. She and Dr. Dixie Melillo received the 501C3 documents for The Rose in 1986. A memory will be shared daily, culminating with number 25 on the day The Rose celebrates its 25th anniversary November 10.

© 2011 Dorothy Gibbons. All rights reserved.