A unique partnership between MUSC and New Life Assembly of God Church brought a group of North Charleston women together on Saturday, Jan. 17, to learn about breast health—information that could one day save their lives.

Each month through May, a training and education session will be held at New Life Church to teach women how to perform breast self examinations, the importance of nutrition in the prevention of breast cancer and the importance of early detection. Project organizers hope to reach 500 North Charleston women by May 1998.

“As the women share their knowledge and volunteers recruit others into the program, it creates a rippling effect in the community -- empowering women through education and reducing breast cancer deaths in South Carolina,” said Dawn Barr Duggins, community programs coordinator, Hollings Cancer Center. Because a significant number of women within a ten-mile radius of the church are socioeconomically disadvantaged and medically underserved, Duggins said the program will fill a vital need in the community.

“The church is a pivotal force within the surrounding densely populated North Charleston community, and has already provided several successful health awareness programs in the community,” Duggins said.

Participants are eligible for a free mammogram if they are: 40 years or older, have no health insurance, and have not had a mammogram during the past year. If a lump is found, the woman will be seen by a medical professional at MUSC.

The church-based education program is funded by a grant from the Charleston, SC Race for the Cure®, an affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Each year, 75 percent of the proceeds from the Charleston race are allocated to organizations throughout South Carolina to fund vital breast cancer screening, education and awareness initiatives. The remaining 25 percent helps fund the Komen Foundation’s National Grant Program.

For more information about the church-based breast health education program, or to participate in a training session, call Carri Pruner at 569-1545. The next session will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 21.