November 1, 2018
From left, Jieka Guerrier and Julet Queensborough, MCHC Breast Health Navigators; Anubhav Kaul, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer; Mary Stone, Radiology Technologist, BMC; Elizabeth Thomas, Clinical Operations Assistant, Tatianie Jackson, MD, Radiology Dept., BMC; Diana Strather, breast cancer survivor; Tarma Johnson, FNP, BC, Clinical Health Director; Guale Valdez, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer, MCHC.
A celebration at Mattapan Community Health Center (MCHC) last Thursday night (Oct. 25) honored breast cancer survivors and their caregivers. The theme of the night was “Education and Survivorship Journey.”
The event was attended by over 50 people. Tatianie Jackson, MD, a radiology resident from Boston Medical Center, was the keynote speaker. Dr. Jackson focused on, among other things, what breast cancer is, its risk factors, and the appropriate age to start breast screening.
A number of survivors offered moving testimonials. Guale Valdez, president and CEO of MCHC, opened the event with his own moving account of how breast cancer had touched his family.
Community outreach aimed at reducing breast cancer in Mattapan includes education efforts, setting up mammograms, instruction in self-breast examination techniques, and health fairs. MCHC proudly reports that it has facilitated close to 800 mammograms as of 2018.
MCHC offers Mammography screening weekly in partnership Boston Medical Center. Mary Stone, Radiology Technologist with Boston Medical Center, Julet Queensborough, MCHC Breast Health Navigator, and Jieka Guerrier, MCHC Breast Health Navigator staff the Mammography Dept. at MCHC and hosted the Breast Health Night Event.
“You’re just humbled by the experiences that people have, what they go through, their strength and the fact that they persevere really gives. It makes us want to work harder,” said Queensborough.
