Breast Cancer Awareness for Young Women

Dr. Ellen Paredes and Board member Stephanie Rochon, spoke to the seventh and eighth grades at St. Catherine’s School on Thursday, October 14 as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Their breast cancer awareness talk for young women was the brainstorm of R.J. Landin Loderick and Norah Lind, both of whom are members of the Advisory Council.

“I think Norah and I both had the idea that we should try to reach girls in secondary school with an early detection of breast cancer message,” said Mrs. Loderick. “Our first effort took place in the Middle School at St. Catherine’s, but I think high schools and colleges are ideal places for this program.”

Mrs. Loderick’s daughter, Emma, an eighth grader at St. Catherine’s, introduced Dr. Paredes and Ms. Rochon to her classmates. Ms. Rochon talked about the Buddy Check 6 Program that she initiated at CBS 6 where she is a news anchor. She produces Buddy Check 6 as a monthly report on breast health information and breast cancer as well as preparing special reports about breast cancer throughout the year.

Dr. Paredes talked about the positive advances that are being made in early detection and treatment of breast cancer. She also gave the young women information on becoming a physician by discussing her academic path to a career in medicine.

“I was so pleased with the excellent questions that the students asked at the conclusion of my talk,” said Dr. Paredes. “You don’t expect to get that kind of response. These young ladies were really paying attention.”

Dr. Paredes is available to speak to other student groups in the Richmond area about the early detection of breast cancer.

Buddy Check 6 Website

Stephanie Rochon, news anchor at CBS 6 and Board of Directors member of the Ellen Shaw de Paredes Breast Cancer Foundation

I am the daughter of an 11 year breast cancer survivor.  The same year my mother was diagnosed, my husband and I moved to Richmond. My boss at CBS 6 had no idea my mother was a survivor when he told me he wanted to launch a brand new franchise for the newscast that would focus on breast cancer awareness. That franchise is called Buddy Check 6. The idea was on the sixth of each month we would produce a report that would give women important breast health information. In 2010, I marked my 11th year of producing those reports. It is one of the proudest achievements in my broadcasting career. The high point? Four years after we launched the reports, a woman named Talna Pettigrew called to tell me one of my reports saved her life. She had no health insurance and couldn’t afford a mammogram. She had watched my report on Every Woman’s Life, a program that helps women in her situation get screened.  She was diagnosed with cancer, treated and survived. We’ve heard from many Talna Pettigrew’s over the years who have said they’ve enjoyed our Buddy Check 6 reports. It’s called Buddy Check because we ask women to pick a buddy, a co-worker, friend, or relative and encourage them to get their mammogram. And follow-up to make sure they do it. These reports are a testament to the power of television to help people, something we strive to do every day on CBS 6. 

http://www.wtvr.com/health/buddycheck/wtvr-buddy-check-free-mammogram-cancer-paredes,0,2683901.story