Trinity invites public for pampering, cancer prevention
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STEUBENVILLE -- Trinity Health System combined sharing information about breast cancer prevention with a morning of sweets, prizes and pampering during its first Faith Over Fear "Pop In" Friday at Trinity Medical Center East.
As many as 200 visitors to the building's lobby found it trimmed in pink decorations, commemorating Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The center offered free food, vendors and socialization in a relaxed environment for visitors to enjoy, alongside professionals who were eager to offer information about breast cancer prevention and resources.
"We wanted to take time to pamper our local women, and also share a little bit of information about prevention. It's really important for women to get annual mammograms," said Laurie Labishak, Trinity's marketing director. "Early detection saves lives, so we wanted to show them our mammography center here at our campus so that they can see it's not as scary as you think it is. Having a mammogram could possibly save a woman's life, and we want them to feel comfortable coming here."
Among the pampering services presented for women were manicures provided by the Jefferson County Vocational School, as well as hand, neck and shoulder massages provided by a massage therapist. Visitors could sip on non-alcoholic watermelon mimosas or munch on free doughnuts from So Nuts 4 Doughnuts.
In addition to various other free items around the lobby, the center offered a chance to win door prizes that had been donated by the center's supporters and local businesses.
"(The pop in) is a way for the community to come together and embrace those who are fighting breast cancer (and) those that are worried about their risk," Labishak said, "and add a level of comfort so that we can surround everyone with information and knowledge."
Kayla Campos, patient navigator and mammographer for Trinity's Images Center, provided some of that information. Campos said Images performs biopsies and diagnostic mammograms, which are X-ray screenings of the breast that she said begin for women at age 40.
"If women have biopsies and they come back positive, unfortunately, or high-risk, we work hand-in-hand with the Tony Teramana Cancer Center to get them scheduled for treatment," Campos said.
Marsha Lewis, patient advocate at the Teramana center, said the facility, located at Trinity Medical Center West, offers the proper treatment following diagnosis, including chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The center, Lewis said, is staffed with physicians from Trinity, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Allegheny Health Network.
Sherie Dunlevy of IC Care, an in-home companion care service for senior citizens, said she wanted to come and support her friends, Labishak and Jessica Kelly, community outreach specialist for Trinity, because "they do a lot to support women in our community."
Dunlevy said the event was "wonderful" and a great way to promote women's health locally. Also, she encouraged other women to be proactive with their health and to seek cancer screenings.
Encouragement to be proactive and get screened was a directive supported by one of the event's vendors, Emilee Wood of Tupperware in the Country with Emilee. Wood, who was joined by Cliff Wood, had asked to be a part of event while on the phone with Trinity scheduling her own mammogram.
Another preventative care supporter was Mary Anne Smith, who came to Trinity to receive a mammogram but ended up receiving her first manicure from JVS student Kyley Sherbondy. Having had a niece and cousins who suffered from breast cancer, Smith said she recognizes the importance of getting a mammogram.
Yvonne Tuchalski was declared cancer free in April 2022. She stressed the importance of catching breast cancer early, noting that her own case was caught soon enough that she only had to go through radiation therapy and not chemotherapy.
Just outside the center was Ann Marie McConaghy, who brought her 1978 Volkswagen bus as part of Smiley Ann's Photo Van. Visitors could have their picture taken inside the colorfully decorated bus.
McConaghy, whose mother and aunt both survived cancer, said of the pop in: "I think that it is an absolutely great thing that they are doing."
The center distributed fliers advertising a dine-to-donate event benefiting the Trinity Foundation Women's Imaging Fund at the Texas Roadhouse at the Fort Steuben Mall from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 23. Individuals who present the event's flier at the restaurant during that time will have 10 percent of their total food purchases donated to the fund.