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By Zach Compton

Contributing Writer

 

Last Thursday (October 24th) Claiborne Medical Center hosted a cancer survivor’s luncheon to honor local breast cancer survivors in honor of Breast Cancer awareness month. The event, hosted by Claiborne Medical Center marketing manager Betsy Maples, was a joint effort between the hospital and the Claiborne health department.
“The health department came to me and they wanted to know if we could do something to honor our breast cancer survivors,” Maples said. “We know a lot of people who have breast cancer or have had it in the past, so we just wanted to do something to recognize the survivors.”

Maples says that she wants to make these kinds of events an annual thing for the hospital.

“We’ve done some different things over the years, but this is the first year that we’ve had the luncheon. We wanted to gauge community response and overall it’s really been a good thing.” she added. “The only problem is that we had a full room today and we’d like to host it at the hospital but we might have to look for another location so we can host more people. We’re very pleased with how it’s turned out.”

The event hosted 13 survivors of breast and cervical cancer, including some hospital staff, alongside some who showed up to show support to the survivors and listen to their stories. The event gave local cancer survivors a place to celebrate their triumphs over the disease, and to allow others who had recently been diagnosed a place to search for community and guidance during this difficult time. Many survivors and hospital staff also advise all women to regularly have mammograms as early detection can save lives.

Maples also said that the Claiborne Medical Center is always looking for volunteers to help at the hospital, both with events like this one and general day to day procedures. Those who are interested in volunteering can contact Betsy Maples at 423-526-2192 to discuss volunteer opportunities.