ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this year locally throughout the month, Liberal’s Cato Fashions store has teamed up with Southwest Medical Center to bring more awareness to breast cancer.
SWMC Marketing and Development Director Janeth Vazquez said as part of the nationwide “Think Pink” awareness effort, the hospital and Cato Fashions partnered to remind the community about the importance of early detection, regular checkups and supporting those whose lives have been touched by breast cancer.
“‘It’s basically about spreading hope, education and unity one pink ribbon at a time,” she said.
Vazquez was contacted by Cato Fashions Store Manager Kelly Frazier, and she said SWMC has been doing other activities to bring awareness to breast cancer as well.
“We’ve done different marketing campaigns and spread awareness about breast cancer,” Vazquez said. “I actually started handing out pink cups at the health fair.”
Vazquez said this is how Frazier found out about the hospital’s efforts for breast cancer awareness.
“She recently called to me see if I had anything we could give away as far as any educational literature or giveaways,” Vazquez said. “I told her I’d be more than happy to collaborate.”
So for the month of October, the Liberal Cato Fashions store has been blinged out in pink, and Vazquez said she was quite excited when she was contacted by Frazier and even more excited when she went in the store.
“I didn’t realize on what magnitude this was going to be,” she said. “When I first walked in, the whole store was bedazzled pink, and of course, my favorite color is pink. I feel after I saw what their store looked like, I needed to increase my marketing efforts to do more.”
Vazquez said it is important for people to be aware of breast cancer not just during October, but throughout the year, and of particular importance is how early detection saves lives.
“We want to encourage women in our community not to wait to schedule their mammograms and encourage their loved ones to do the same and also show compassion to those who have been affected,” she said. “Wearing pink is more than just a color. It’s a symbol of hope, love and to educate our community.”
That importance too, Vazquez said, is emphasized particularly at hospitals such as SWMC, with medical workers seeing first hand how early detection can save lives.
“Breast cancer affects so many families, including those right here in our community,” she said. “Awareness encourages people to get screened and talk openly about prevention and health. It’s not just a campaign. It’s our commitment to care for the people we serve.”
Though breast cancer survival rates have risen in recent years, Vazquez said the number of cases, particularly in young women, is on the rise.
“I was looking at research, and it’s actually something that’s happening all across the country,” she said. “There is a rise in breast cancer among young women. Data and statistics show one in eight women will experience breast cancer in their lifetime. That’s pretty high.”
Vazquez said the partnership with Cato Fashions not only helps SWMC promote breast cancer awareness, but it also helps reach people beyond the hospital setting.
“Cato’s is a place where many of our community shoppers gather,” she said. “I feel by joining forces, we’re bringing more awareness to more women where they are already at in everyday spaces.”
Vazquez said Cato Fashions is a portion of SWMC’s breast cancer awareness campaign, but the hospital is willing to partner with any organization, church or business who is willing to promote breast cancer education.
“Besides Cato’s, we also partnered with the City of Liberal and signed a proclamation during the last commission meeting, and we also set up a table with educational literature and some pink giveaways with the simplicity of just getting the word out there that breast cancer is unfortunately affecting more people, younger women and trying to get the message to them that they need to get checked,” she said.
Vazquez said even if a person feels okay and may not show any symptoms, they could still have breast cancer, and she said younger women show fewer symptoms.
“They look healthy, and when they get checked, it turns out to be a huge surprise,” she said. “It was something completely unexpected. People think breast cancer only affects somebody who looks sick or feels sick, and that’s not the case. It’s affecting a lot of people, and unfortunately, they found out at a later stage. That’s when they’re more critically ill. If they can get it detected early, they can get it taken care of faster, which will save them time, money and their life.”
Though October is simply the month designated to launch marketing campaigns, Vazquez said breast cancer should be one everyone’s radar all year long.
“Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women in the U.S.,” she said. “Early detection through regular screening greatly improves the survival rate. It’s extremely crucial, but at the end of the day, what’s more crucial is the preventative screening. If you don’t get that screening, you’re not going to know if you have cancer.”
For this reason, Frazier said she decided to step out to see if the hospital could help Cato Fashions with any information to set out and give to customers. She added the company has had efforts for the past three years to bring awareness to breast cancer during October, and she said those efforts have gone well.
“Last year, we did really good,” she said. “Our goal yearly is to hit that $1 million as a company. As of Oct. 21, we’re about halfway there in trying to raise money for the cure.”
Frazier said partnerships such as the one between SWMC and Cato Fashions help the community come together and help in seeing the big picture. She added breast cancer does not just pertain to women.
“It’s also men who find out they have this cancer,” she said. “There’s steps. They’re not alone. They don’t feel alone with what they’ve got to do. Our national breast cancer company by Dallas, they’re giving us these hope kits we can send out to people to help them so they don’t feel like they’re alone.”
Like Vazquez, Frazier said people need to be aware of breast cancer throughout the year.
“We need to make sure everybody’s doing their exams, staying on top of it, sharing stories,” Frazier said. “Our regional manager shared his story about his sister. She had breast cancer. It went away, and it just recently came back. He lost her in May. It affects so many people around you and at home. It’s not just in October when we really need to focus on it, but just making sure everybody’s doing their yearlies.”
Frazier said Cato Fashions’s efforts are having a huge positive effect nationwide when it comes to breast cancer.
“The National Breast Cancer Foundation was telling us on a conference call with money we raised for the last two years, we’ve been able to help 3,000-plus women with mammograms and different tests,” she said. “Every little bit helps. Even rounding up your change always helps.”
