Mammography Art Initiative to raise money for uninsured women


Students from the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, and artists, including Wilma Bulkin Siege, an award-winning artist and retired oncologist, host “Healing,” the second annual art exhibition and auction to raise funds for uninsured and under insured local women.

mamographyartinitiative

The Mammography Art Initiative was established in 2011 to address the need for better access to affordable breast health services, and information about breast health for underserved women in Miami. Last year’s auction raised $10,000, which helped pay for breast health workshops in Hialeah, Opa-locka, Miami Gardens and North Miami Beach, as well as sponsor mammograms for 80 women.

The initiative hopes to raise more than $25,000 this year to expand the project’s scope and impact.

The Centers for Disease Control lists breast cancer as the most common cancer among women, and the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Studies have shown mammography reduces the risk of dying from breast cancer, but early detection is key. In the U.S. 39 percent of invasive breast cancers among women are diagnosed at late stage; however in some underserved areas of Miami-Dade County the rates of late stage diagnosis can be as high as 54 percent, according to the Florida Cancer Data System (2004-2009).

The event  will take place  on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the The Bakehouse Art Complex in the Wynwood Art District, 561 NW 32nd St. in Miami.

 

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