NEWBURYPORT - Everything's coming up rose-colored downtown, and it's all for an important cause.
Local women business owners are decorating their storefronts pink for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, coinciding with a marketing campaign led by Anna Jaques Hospital that is also featuring the businesswomen in advertisements.
The goal: To make it difficult for women to find excuses to avoid an annual mammogram.
From Pawsitvely Best Friends pet boutique's pink ribbon dog collars to the pink lingerie and feathers in the window of French Lessons to the assortment of pink bubble bath and variety of soaps in Soak's windows, the business owners have joined with the hospital to raise community awareness.
To date, fewer than 50 percent of females in and around Newburyport ages 40 to 49 have received their first mammogram, a staggering statistic that Anna Jaques Hospital is committed to changing. The hospital has also unveiled a new digital mammography unit.
"This is a community effort to keep each other healthy," Lisa Moore, mammography supervisor at Anna Jaques Hospital, said.
The hospital's imaging machine, a little more than a month old, is able to screen the same volume of patients in a substantially less amount of time. While before it could take an hour for a patient to receive a screening, it now takes just 20 minutes, Moore said.
"The hospital is passionate about women's health," said Jim Borek, director of diagnostic imaging.
The digital mammography unit, which cost more than $1 million, can screen women in a whole new way.
Using computer-assisted design software, readings that before were one-dimensional and difficult to read can now be manipulated, lightened or darkened, and flipped. The computer is also capable of pointing out irregularities in a reading, and uses soft foam pillows called MammoPads that assist with comfort and provide better images during the procedure.
Under the new system, the computer reads the image for atypical results before the radiologist looks it over and reads it again, creating a double reading system that ensures comprehensive results, Borek said.
"Before, we couldn't see behind breast implants or dense tissue from patients who had received radiation therapy, but now we can customize everything," Moore said. "The technology is changing in the blink of an eye."
Local women business owners are decorating their storefronts pink for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, coinciding with a marketing campaign led by Anna Jaques Hospital that is also featuring the businesswomen in advertisements.
The goal: To make it difficult for women to find excuses to avoid an annual mammogram.
From Pawsitvely Best Friends pet boutique's pink ribbon dog collars to the pink lingerie and feathers in the window of French Lessons to the assortment of pink bubble bath and variety of soaps in Soak's windows, the business owners have joined with the hospital to raise community awareness.
To date, fewer than 50 percent of females in and around Newburyport ages 40 to 49 have received their first mammogram, a staggering statistic that Anna Jaques Hospital is committed to changing. The hospital has also unveiled a new digital mammography unit.
"This is a community effort to keep each other healthy," Lisa Moore, mammography supervisor at Anna Jaques Hospital, said.
The hospital's imaging machine, a little more than a month old, is able to screen the same volume of patients in a substantially less amount of time. While before it could take an hour for a patient to receive a screening, it now takes just 20 minutes, Moore said.
"The hospital is passionate about women's health," said Jim Borek, director of diagnostic imaging.
The digital mammography unit, which cost more than $1 million, can screen women in a whole new way.
Using computer-assisted design software, readings that before were one-dimensional and difficult to read can now be manipulated, lightened or darkened, and flipped. The computer is also capable of pointing out irregularities in a reading, and uses soft foam pillows called MammoPads that assist with comfort and provide better images during the procedure.
Under the new system, the computer reads the image for atypical results before the radiologist looks it over and reads it again, creating a double reading system that ensures comprehensive results, Borek said.
"Before, we couldn't see behind breast implants or dense tissue from patients who had received radiation therapy, but now we can customize everything," Moore said. "The technology is changing in the blink of an eye."
Since the beginning of digital mammography and the marketing campaign, there has been a steady increase of women booking appointments.
"We have about 60 a day in total from all our sites," Borek said.
The hospital has also added Tuesday night and longer weekend hours with the possibility of adding even more nights to accommodate local women.
"We don't want people to wait more than six to eight weeks for an appointment," Moore said. "Every 20 minutes we do a screen, and mornings are reserved for emergency screenings."
According to the American Cancer Society, there are more than 2 million women living with breast cancer in the United States. This does not include the 178,480 women who will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer this year alone. By the end of the year, 40,460 women will die of the disease, making it the second-leading cause of cancer deaths among women nationwide after lung cancer.
Since the beginning of the month, women who have received a mammogram at one of the three Anna Jaques locations - Anna Jaques Hospital, Diagnostic Imaging in Haverhill at One Park Way or the Amesbury Health Center at 24 Morrill Place - have been given a coupon for a "booby prize," which they could redeem at participating local businesses, as a reward for having a mammogram.
"This is the first time businesses have come together to promote mammography," Anna Jaques public relations director Deb Chiaravalloti said.
As part of National Mammography Day on Friday, women were able to bring their coupons to businesses, such as Souffles, French Lessons, Licorice & Sloe Tea or the Book Rack, for prizes or discounts.
"Anything I can do to promote early prevention is a great thing," said Kim Gobbi, owner of Jonesy's Jewels, noting she lost an aunt to breast cancer as well as, in a rare case, her grandfather. She also has other family members battling the disease.
"It's so nice to use local women in the campaign, and it's just great to be a part of it," she said.
At French Lessons, the displays in the window have changed a couple of times, showcasing different pink items in the store. Susan Benigno, the store's former manager, lost her mother to breast cancer, so current manager Brenda Arena took up the cause when she took over.
French Lessons offered a 20 percent discount and a small gift, while Jonesy's Jewels offered a free pair of beaded earrings. Souffles offered a buy-one-coffee, get-one-coffee-free deal.
"The whole idea is women taking care of women. If you can take care of yourself, then you can take care of others," Moore said.
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