The Prince County Hospital Foundation is launching their annual Vital Signs appeal this week and Digital Mammography is front and centre of the $1,788,900 campaign. In 2008 the Foundation raised the funds to install the Island’s first Digital Mammography Unit. Since its installation in 2009, it has contributed to countless cancer diagnoses and positive outcomes through early detection. Andrea Wile is a Nurse Manager at PCH and is a former breast cancer patient whose outcome was greatly enhanced when a mammogram led to early breast cancer detection. “My story started out exactly like my mother’s,” she said in a recent PCH Foundation interview. When Andrea was a teenager she lost her mother to breast cancer. Though her mother’s cancer was found early, advancements in mammography have meant that Andrea’s cancer was found even earlier — when she was 35. Andrea recounted “As scary as it is to get results and as scary as it is to get diagnosed, I’d rather know than not know. The options in front of me were positive because of early detection. Because of early detection and the choices we made about treatment options, I didn’t have to do radiation or chemotherapy. Those have significant life implications. It was a significant health savings.”
This year the PCH Foundation is reaching out to the community to help replace the Digital Mammography Unit at the Prince County Hospital. After twelve years of continuous service, the unit is reaching the end of its life and will be replaced with even more advanced technology. “Having the technology available in the community is huge because it provides the opportunity for early detection and actually being able to do something about it,” Wile said of the life-saving equipment. “With nearly 25 years of medical advancement, we’ve come a long way from my mother’s story to the story I hope to have.”
Valued at $600,000, the Digital Mammography Unit is just part of the list of medical equipment and technology needed at PCH this year for patient care. A complete accounting is available here.
Andrea Wile’s story is also featured here in full
And secure gifts can be made here
Donations are also gratefully accepted by mail, in person at the PCH Foundation office, or by calling (902) 432-2547.
“You can help provide a new path to Island women like Andrea with a gift to the Vital Signs Appeal,” says Heather Matheson, PCH Foundation’s Managing Director. “The campaign helps us keep the Prince County Hospital equipped and ready for our friends and families when they need it most. There is no question that these are challenging times in healthcare, particularly at PCH. Keeping our hospital well equipped for patient care is essential for many reasons, not the least of which is attracting new staff. A healthy PCH means one that is equipped for anything and staffed to match,” continued Matheson. “We need the public’s support now more than ever. Helping us fulfill the greatest medical equipment needs for patient care will help to solve other challenges, too.”
