Gift someone another sunrise

by Dorothy Gibbons, CEO and Co-Founder of The Rose.   A $100,000 gift would mean we could serve 500 women. That’s 500 mothers or daughters or aunts or wives, 500 co-workers or neighbors or best friends. Anyone of those 500 women could wear one of those ‘hats’ or all! Serving 500 women impacts hundreds of others, the people who care for them and the people who depend upon them, some will never forget that their mother or daughter or wife was helped when she needed it most. $100,000 could give any of those 500 women years to be with those she loves, years to raise children, to grow companies, to attend graduations and weddings, to enjoy sunrises and sunsets. Life is so fragile and breast cancer brings challenges no one wants to face. For most women, scheduling a mammogram is as easy as making a phone call. We worry more about finding time in our busy lives for that appointment than anything else. If diagnosed, we trust we’ll find timely treatment and personalized care within world-class medical facilities. All is true, that is, if we are insured. The uninsured women we serve at The Rose do not have those options. Limited incomes outpace their responsibilities. Medical care and basic screenings are a luxury. Some have never had a mammogram; some haven’t had one in over a decade. Others have found a lump in their breast and still, others know their family history puts them at such high risk that their diagnosis is nearly inescapable. When they come to The Rose they hope and pray they will find help and are surprised to also find they are treated with utmost dignity by incredibly caring people. Once they arrive no one knows if insured or uninsured—all the paperwork is handled in the background. It’s important to us that no one ever feels ‘less than’ simply because life has put them in a place and time when help is most needed. Every service we offer is available to our uninsured women; all are of the highest in quality accredited care provided by one of only 14 Breast Imaging Centers of Excellence in greater Houston. The most important part of our service is access to treatment. A diagnosis of breast cancer is difficult enough, but without any resources or insurance means fighting for life on every level. Those uninsured women diagnosed at The Rose are assigned a personal Patient Navigator who finds treatment at leading hospitals and cancer centers. Navigators continue to provide personal support throughout each patient’s recovery, for some follow-up lasts for five years. The Rose isn’t a big organization yet your support allows us to serve over 40,000 women throughout Southeast Texas. Our mission is access to care for all. Our work saves lives. From advanced 3D mammography screening to diagnostic services involving ultrasounds, biopsies and physician consults; the latest technology and fellowship trained physicians, all are available to every woman we serve—regardless of her ability to pay. Our Mobile Mammography Coaches travel through 40 counties bringing services to women where they live work and pray. The services that our uninsured women receive are sponsored by individual donations and through grants or by an incredible once-in-a-lifetime gift such as the $100,000 prize from the Reliant Gives program. While every woman we serve is a VIP, our sponsored women are a little extra special because someone like you cared enough to help. Please vote for The Rose today and every day from April 30 to May 6 by going to www.reliant.com/vote. Every click brings us closer to capturing that amazing $100,000 gift—every click means a chance to survive for another woman.