Eat a cookie to support breast cancer screenings

Bypass your regular bakery or grocery store next week and instead stop by the hospital cafeteria of Northwest Community Healthcare to purchase one or more pink ribbon cookies.

The cookies commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month and help fund the NCH Gift-a-Mammogram Program, which provides diagnostic mammograms and follow-up procedures for 100 uninsured women annually.

The large, cut-out cookies are $3.50 each and available for purchase by the general public through Friday, Oct. 13.

"My employees wanted to do something good, and we helped fund mammograms for several women who otherwise couldn't afford one," said NCH Director of Nutrition and Food Services Anne Mothkovich, adding that they sold hundreds of cookies last year.

Many women cannot afford the cost of an annual mammogram, but through the Gift-a-Mammogram program, several of them will be screened and test positive for breast cancer.

NCH offers 3-D mammograms and same-day results at all four of its locations. In addition, the Breast Center offers advanced diagnostics, including 3T MRI, breast ultrasounds, intact breast excisional biopsies and more.

While mammograms are essential for all women, 40 percent of women in the U.S. have dense breast tissue and qualify for a secondary test. NCH offers ABUS (Automated Breast Ultrasound Screening).

It is estimated that mammograms alone miss more than one-third of breast cancers hidden in women with dense breasts. ABUS does not replace a mammogram, but can reveal other abnormalities hidden by dense breast tissue. For more information on the NCH Breast Center, or to schedule a mammogram or ABUS screening, call (847) 618-3700.

To order cookies ahead of time (recommended for orders of a dozen or more), call (847) 618-7464. Allow one to two days for availability.