Breast cancer: Two words that change the lives of thousands of women every year. The key to survival is early detection. The month of October is National Breast Cancer awareness month, and there are many different ways to raise awareness for Breast Cancer.  One Girl Scout troop in Branson came up with a creative way to emphasize the importance of early detection through mammography.

Junior Girl Scout troop 60146 from Branson, in collaboration with Skaggs Center for Women’s Health, handmade hundreds of bracelets to be distributed this month. The bracelets are a teaching tool, using two beads: one bead to demonstrate the size of a tumor that a mammogram may detect, another, much larger one, to show the size of the tumor a woman may detect through self-screening. 

The bracelets are for mammography patients, who come in for mammograms at Skaggs, during the month of October. “Every October we provide an educational tool to our patients when they come in for mammograms,” says Tracey Williams, Director of Skaggs Women’s Services. “We’re so excited to have the Girl Scouts involved in the education of breast cancer prevention. These girls are learning at an early age the importance of self-screenings and annual mammograms.”

Skaggs Center for Women’s Health is located on the fourth floor on Skaggs Outpatient Center. The center’s focus is on prevention and early detection of breast cancer. The physicians at the center for Women’s Health are board certified radiologists who specialize in breast health. Technologists perform all mammography, bone density and ultrasound procedures. Information about services for women is located online at Skaggs.net under the services tab or call (417) 348-8313

(Pictured left to right:  Dana Wright, Girl Scout Troop Leader, McKenna Newell, Julia Wright, Madison Post, Madison Cates, Kiley Baldwin, Espi Melendez, Wendy Post, Girl Scout Troop Co-Leader, Tracey Williams, Director of Skaggs Women’s Services.)