Did you know that breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers among women?
Every day Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD) providers and supportive services ensure women of all incomes have access to the care they need. FHCSD strongly recommends all women follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for annual screening of breast and cervical cancer. Not only do all of our primary care clinics offer mammograms and Pap smear tests, we offer an extensive array of services designed to meet the health care needs of our female patients.
While all of our primary care clinics offer health care services for women, Beach Area Family Health Center, Logan Heights Family Health Center, Chula Vista Family Health Center, City Heights Family Health Center and North Park Family Health Center offer expanded services at their women’s clinics.
Regardless of health condition or income status, our courteous and professional medical staff is committed to treating all patients with the utmost dignity and respect.
To schedule an appointment with a Family Health Centers of San Diego provider at a clinic near you,
call .
This number is not intended for emergency care. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 imtely or go to the emergency room. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, please call the toll-free Access and Crisis Line: 1(888) 724-7240 [TDD for the hearing impaired: (619) 641-6992], which is available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week, call 911 or go to the emergency room.
«CEO’s Corner: an update from Fran,» a regular feature in our monthly Adelante newsletter, focuses on the importance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
PINK … the Color or the Cause?
By Fran Butler-Cohen, Family Health Centers of San Diego CEO
Pink, long associated with all things soft and girly, has become a man’s color each October. It is the color of the gridiron. A color to remind us that beyond Sunday and Monday night football classes, a very real battle is waged each day across our nation, by women who have breast cancer. Why one woman gets breast cancer and another does not is still elusive, but it is certain that over 230,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2015. It is a shocking reality that 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
And there are no time-outs for the men. Over 2,300 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in 2015.
While there is uncertainty around who gets breast cancer, it is not a random event. Some avoidable risk factors include lack of physical exercise, lack of fresh food or too much processed food, being overweight, alcohol consumption and hormonal replacement therapy, to name a few. Even though two-thirds of those diagnosed are over age 55, more than 76,000 women under the age of 55 will receive a breast cancer diagnosis this year.
At Family Health Centers of San Diego, we are committed to the cause of fighting breast cancer with 11 staff members dedicated to providing optimal breast cancer case management and tracking. To date in 2015, patients of Family Health Centers of San Diego have received almost 15,000 separate breast cancer screening services.
I love it when the tough guys of the NFL don their pink. Their commitment brings attention and donations to the fight against breast cancer. But the real commitment to the breast cancer battle is the one we make to ourselves, to our friends and to our family. That commitment is a promise to receive regular screenings, to ask loved ones if they have had their screening, to place it on the annual kitchen calendar and to model good preventive care for our children. Breast cancer has an excellent survival rate if caught early.
So when your favorite 350-pound offensive lineman puts on those pink wristbands and pink shoes, remember he is reminding you it’s time to make that call. It is no longer just the color, it is the cause.
Join the conversation!
For the month of October, #FHCSDGoesPink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month on our social networks. Like us on Facebook and Follow Us on Twitter to receive timely information, updates and more during the month of October.
FHCSD staff is «Going Pink» every Friday in October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
See if you can spot the color of pink on our providers and staff!
Featured Events:
- FREE Breast Exams and Screenings
Saturday, October 3, 2015 from 8:00 am to 12:30pm
FHCSD and We Support U provided breast exams and mammograms at Chase Avenue Family Health Center.
- Endless Summer 2015 Classic Car Show
Saturday, October 3, 2015 from 9:00am – 3:00pm
Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach
Hosted by the City of Imperial Beach and the San Diego Air-Cooled Car Club, this event raised funds to honor those who have lost their battle with breast cancer, with all proceeds supporting FHCSD’s breast cancer awareness and treatment efforts, including clinical breast exams, mammograms, well-woman exams and support groups.
