MCRD/ERR PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- June Kasiak-Gambla, a registered nurse at Naval Hospital Beaufort and breast care coordinator for the Breast Care Initiative Program, is lobbying with state representatives to pass a house resolution.
The resolution proclaims the month of May will be recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Mother's Day to be known as Breast Cancer Awareness Day in South Carolina this year, in an effort to encourage prevention and early detection of the disease.
• Among women in the United States, breast cancer is the second leading cancer related death and most frequently diagnosed non-skin cancer.
• In spite of tremendous strides in prevention and early detection efforts, there remains much to be done to claim success against breast cancer.
• Until there is a cure and even a method of prevention, early detection has proven to be the most successful weapon against breast cancer.
• Because mammography can expose changes in breast years before physical symptoms can be felt or seen, it is recommended that women age forty and older have a mammography regularly, if not annually.
Kasiak-Gambla said she hopes this resolution will get more women to take more responsibility for their personal health.
"As breast care coordinator, I feel it's very important to get the information out to woman of all ages," said Kasiak- Gambla. "I thought Mothers Day would be a great day, since it focuses on women anyway, for people to recognize the fact that detection and prevention is possible to stop this deadly disease."
Along with her role at the hospital, Kasiak- Gambla also speaks to area women's groups and even female recruits aboard Parris Island to educate them on ways to live a longer, healthier life.
"I'm also encouraging medical facilities to use the Gail Risk Assessment, which helps identify possible problems early by analyzing their personal and family history," she said. "The assessment will look at their genetics and find things that family members in the past may have dealt with."