More Providers at the Rainbow Women's Health Fair!

The Rainbow Women's Health Fair is this Saturday, June 29th from noon to 4pm! Come stop by All Pilgrims Church on Broadway for free health modalities!

 

See our most recent blog posts for lists of the providers that are participating, including these fabulous folks:

 

 

Safer Sex

Seattle Girls of Leather are a tremendous part of the Rainbow Women's Health Fair! Look for them at the front entrance of the Rainbow, where they will be greeting attendees with delicious snacks. Inside, halth care professional Candace Cantrell, President of Seattle Girls of Leather, will be answering questions about safer sex. Candace has many years of professional and personal exSeattle Girls of Leatherperiences in alternative sexuality communities, making her a dynamic educator.

 

 

B.E.S.T. Energy Healing

Linda Rasmussen, an Elite Master of B.E.S.T.  Bio Energetic Synchronization Technique), will be doing a demonstration and providing B.E.S.T. treatment.  B.E.S.T. is a gentle, light touch, energy balancing treatment that promotes relaxation and improves whole body functioning. Linda has a private practice and conducts workshops to train individuals and parents to provide basic energy balancing support to their family members and friends.

 

Mammography

YWCA Women's Health Outreach conducts a mobile mammogram screening for income eligible people 40 and over, who are un- or under insured, under the WBCCHP . The mobile mammogram coach from Swedish Hospital will be on site providing breast exams and pap tests.

HIV Information

Entre Hermanos will be providing HIV/AIDS education specifically for the Latino/a community. They will be providing culturally appropriate information about disease prevention, education, support services, advocacy and community building.

 

Acupuncture

We have several acupuncturists coming to the Rainbow!

Andrew Ball is a volunteer with The Alternative Health Access Campaign. Andrew runs acupuncture clinics for both Tent City 3 and ROOTS, providing medical care to the homeless population of Seattle and surrounding suburbs. His style of healthcare is focused on empowering patients to be able to better take care of themselves physically, mentally, and energetically.

 

Taunya Mattson will be doing a five needle protocol that is used in acupuncture detoxification, and by acupuncturists without borders for stress relief in populations struck by natural disaster.  These needles are non-invasive, help with relaxation, and provide a safe introduction to what acupuncture can do.

 

Jonathan Silliman is an East Asian Medicine Practitioner, specializing in stress relief, sleep disturbance, and emotional equilibrium. At the fair, he will be offering ear/head/hand acupuncture as well as some clothed Shiatsu massage.

Dianna Dean celebrates 10 years as an acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist for the queer community.  She specializes in chronic health concerns from pain conditions, respiratory, gastroenterology, and menopause, to addictions, stress, depression and other psycho emotional issues. 

 

Pap Tests

 

Cedar River Cinic is providing FREE Pap tests! This will be the first year that we are able to offer this at the Rainbow. Dr. Jules Marsh from Cedar River along with Kara Harrington, ARNP student, and Amy Boone, ARNP, from Westside Family Clinic are generously offering their time to do the Paps.

 

Yoga

The Grinning Yogi will be doing a 45-minute yoga workshop from 1:15-2pm. Come join them upstairs for a relaxing and fun session of yoga!

 

Blood Pressure

 

Morgan Manalia, a nursing student at Seattle University, will be taking blood pressure readings and answering questions about blood pressure.

Glucose and Cholesterol Screenings

Katie Lama is a nurse with SeaMar Home Health. She also does work through the Mexican consulate to provide screenings like the glucose and cholesterol screenings that she will be providing at the Rainbow. Katie has worked with the queer and trans populations for decades and is excited to provide glucose and cholesterol screenings for attendees of the health fair.

 

Nutrition Information

 

Barbara Hoppe will be tabling at the Rainbow giving folks information about nutrition. Barbara is a nutritionist, health educator, and lactation consultant. She has a great deal of experience teaching about healthy eating and healthy lifestyles. Come visit her table to learn more!

 

Nutrition Demonstration

 

Golda will be doing a nutrition demonstration in the kitchen. Join her to learn how to make a healthful and nutritious smoothie!

Breast Cancer Information

 

Doris Harris from the Breast Cancer Navigation Project will tabling and providing information on how to navigate the complex experience of having breast cancer.

 

Check Your Boobies will have an information table about their program. Stop by to learn how to sign up for monthly email or text reminders to check your boobies!

 

Get Inspired and join YWCA WALKS at the Komen Race for the Cure, Sun. June 2nd.

Angelina Jolie recently revealed her choice to have a preventive double mastectomy, she spoke powerfully about the need for all women to have access to lifesaving early detection and preventative treatment, addressing that cost can be an obstacle.

Unfortunately, there over 60,000 women in our community who cannot pay for breast cancer early detection procedures due to low income and lack of health insurance.

Here is where Komen Puget Sound comes in.

We are proud to announce, Komen Puget Sound will award $1.6 million to fight breast cancer locally. The majority, $953,000, will go to the Washington State Breast, Cervical, and Colon Health Program (BCCHP) to provide lifesaving breast cancer screenings and diagnostic services to nearly 10,000 women living in our region. Komen Puget Sound is Washington State’s largest private provider of free mammograms to low income and uninsured women.

Our ability to provide these women with lifesaving early breast cancer detection and treatment support comes largely from the funds we raise at the Race for the Cure.

 Here is where you come in!

YWCA Women’s Health Outreach depends on these funds for the work we do in helping to erase health disparities in low-income and LBTQ communities.

It is not too late to join or donate to YWCA WALKS, you will receive a YWCA visor and a Komen Inspire t-shirt.

In less than one week, we will be celebrating our 20th Annual Race for the Cure. If you have not already signed up or donate, here is your chance:  http://ow.ly/ltCUN.  If you have already registered, thank you. Now, please reach out and encourage your friends, family and co-workers to register as well.

I look forward to seeing you at the Race!
Be well, Ingrid

Sharing our Stories

We see it all around us – breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer… The list goes on. Cancer devastates families and communities across our country. In 2008, there were approximately 12 million Americans living with a history of cancer – either living with cancer or having become cancer free. In 2012, it was expected that 1.6 million Americans would be diagnosed with cancer.

Education on cancer, prevention, and early detection is critical. And so is celebrating the successes and victories of individuals, their families, and their medical teams as they beat cancer and go on to live healthy and wholehearted lives. Recently The New York Times created a photo board of people who share insights from their lives after cancer.

The New York Times asks: How did your life change after cancer?

Click on an image in the gallery and that person’s story will appear.

Here is one such story – an inspiring message from Ilene! (Click on the image below to make it bigger.)

If you’re interested in sharing your own story, click here to upload a photo and tell the world about how your life is different after cancer.

Wild Rose Screening Event

To close 2012 with a bang, Women's Health Outreach had a wildly successful mobile screening event at the Wild Rose on December 8th. Sixteen women received free mammograms and Pap tests, twelve of whom were uninsured.

The Swedish mobile van

 

 

 

One of our wonderful mammogram recipients

 

 

 

Our fabulous volunteers

Here's what some of the attendees said about why they came to the screening:

“I think this is a great idea...I love this program.”

“I only have a catastrophic insurance plan. My friend and I were both nervous about getting mammograms. But this is at the Wild Rose, and feels really queer-friendly.”

“I don’t have medical insurance. The quotes I get are $800 a month. This is a wonderful program.”

 

“Health services should be available to everyone, regardless of finances.”

“I’m 40. Mammograms are expensive. But I have a family history of breast cancer, and I thought, ‘I should do this.’”

 

There are many great reasons to get a mammogram, especially considering 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, and the numbers in LBTQ women are even higher.

The next Wild Rose screening will take place in November of 2013. Look for updates and information on how to sign up in the coming months!

Special thanks to Erika Langley for taking pictures and gathering quotes for us!



Make a Rainbow Donation this February! (And get matched!)

Breast, ovarian and cervical cancers affects hundreds of thousands of women every year. Many of whom are our sisters, mothers, nieces, aunts, grandmothers, friends or loved ones. Unfortunately, most of you know someone who has been affected by these cancers, or who is being affected as we speak. Fortunately, there is a way you can give back to this cause, right now.

YWCA Women’s Health Outreach is a program that provides peer outreach, culturally-sensitive breast health education, no-cost mammograms, and information on additional health services for our diverse community. The program offers no-cost mammograms, pap tests and breast exams for income eligible individuals 40 and over. We serve those with limited incomes who are medically underserved, regardless of sexual orientation and/or gender identity. We also focus our outreach efforts on women from African American, Latina, and LBTQ communities.

Every year to coincide with the Pride festivities, YWCA Women’s Health Outreach organizes a Rainbow Health Fair for members of the LBTQ community. At these health fairs, we make free health resources and education available to a population and community that is all too often overlooked by our healthcare system. This year, we are hoping to make it the biggest and best health fair thus far. But, in order to do that, we need your help!

If this is a cause that interests you, please visit our YWCA Donations webpage: http://www.ywcaworks.org/netcommunity/, and click the “donate” button on the right hand side of the webpage. Once on the donation page, select the designation to be the Health Access Department, and in the comments section of additional information, specify LBTQ Health: Rainbow Health Fair. Note that 100% of your money goes directly to YWCA Women's Health Outreach.

And, in the month of February, donations will be matched dollar for dollar - up to $1,000! Consider a tax deductible gift of $10, $25, $50 or more to support the health of women in the Seattle area!

Thank you and be well.

Wildrose Breast Cancer Memorial Wall October 7 - 11

We are gearing up for our next mobile mammography screening at the Wildrose on December 10th and are always pleased to see creative ideas that support women and breast health.  Sometimes Facebook says it best as is the case on the WildRose's page.

The Wildrose, Seattle’s premier Lesbian destination venue for over a quarter of a century is currently experiencing some construction. The floor typically used for the DJ booth and dance floor has been overtaken with a false wall which shields the construction activities and allows the joint to stay open for business. A side-effect of this is a huge plywood wall. The ladies at The Wildrose have dreamt up a brilliant use for this wall! Starting tomorrow (Friday, October 7), this wall will become “The Wildrose Breast Cancer Memorial Wall”.

The wall will be painted over in solid pink, and from tomorrow at 6PM until Tuesday (October 11) at close, patrons, Breast Cancer supporters and survivors and everyone in between will be able to come to The Wildrose and contribute to “The Wildrose Breast Cancer Memorial Wall”. Participants can contribute a name of someone precious to them who has passed, a thought relevant to the Breast Cancer struggle, or a note of hope for those immersed in the Breast Cancer battle. It’s all welcome! There will also be a donation box at the wall where people who can afford to can leave donations. On Tuesday at closing time, The Wildrose will collect the box, count the donations, MATCH the donations, and all donations will go to Gilda’s Club.

You would think that would be enough, but that’s not all! After Tuesday, when the deadline for contributions to the wall has come to pass, the wall will be painted over in clear coat in order to preserve what is there. When the walls come down, they will be stored until it’s time for Gay Pride. They will be erected again, perhaps with additional panels, in the famous Wildrose Beer Garden. People will again be able to contribute and add to “The Wildrose Breast Cancer Memorial Wall”. This will become an annual component to the programming of Wildrose’s Pride festivities. Eventually, all of the fencing erected to secure the area that makes up The Wildrose Beer Garden will proudly display this living memorial. The ladies at The Wildrose couldn’t think of a prettier sight.

August 31st Fundraiser for Susan G. Komen 3Day Walk

It's cabaret time for my Susan G. Komen 3Day Walk for the Cure team

The Half Racks!

Help us eradicate breast cancer while making sure each and every one of us meets our fund-raising goal.

Help us SAVE SECOND BASE!

What: A fun evening of song and poetry celebrating life!

When: August 31st at 7-8:30pm

Where: The Richard Hugo House 

1634 11th Ave in Capitol Hill (Seattle)

How Much: Pay-what-you-can

How do I get tickets: For $8 and higher, go to the following link (various pricing options to accommodate pay-what-you-can): https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/193346

If $8 is too much, please still come to support anyway - even $1 in the basket is $1 towards our goal! Make a reservation here: 206-328-4102.

Our Talent: Larry Albert, Laurie Bialik, Sheila Bordeaux w/ #1 groupie Peaches, Liz Diesner, Garnett Hundley & Beverly Daugherty, Old School (Nancy Haver, Brenda David * Maureen Warren), Sonia Perez with Omaldo Perez, Trace Peters, Pat Peterson, and Fiona & Delphine!

Thanks everyone. I hope to see you on the 31st! And please feel free to forward this email to your friends!

Hugs, Carolyn Dougherty (aka Hug-A-Rack)

TEAM HALF RACKS


PS if you can't make it on the 31st and would like to make a contribution, simply here.
I'm marching toward a new goal of $3,000.....

Saving Lives By Increasing Early Detection - LBTQ Rainbow Health Fair

The Koreans Women's Association partners with Franciscan Health System to create the Breast Cancer Navigator Program. The Breast Cancer Navigator Program has served nearly 15,000 women since it began in 2005. The Navigator helps save lives by going out into the community; educating women about breast cancer and the need for screening. Offering free, culturally sensitive, language appropriate assistance to women from under served populations and helping them get mammograms, increasing early detection of breast cancer.
This program is funded through the generous donation of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.  Doris Harris will be on hand at our 13th Annual LBTQ Rainbow Health Fair.

Doris L. Harris
Breast Cancer Navigator
Serving African American women and the LGBTQ community
206-261-0132
dlharris02@netzero.net
http://www.kwacares.org/
http://www.fhshealth.org/
 

Young Survival Coalition at LBTQ Rainbow Health Fair

While we will be offering mammograms for women over 40 years old at this weekends Health Fair we also offer resources for those under 40 years old facing breast cancer.  The Young Survival Coalition will have 2 volunteers available to provide information and answer your questions.  They will be with us for the entire 10am-3pm to accomodate your schedule.

Young Survival Coalition is the premier global organization dedicated to the critical issues unique to young women & breast cancer. Together, we are a powerful community fighting breast cancer in young women. We offer direct support services, resources, connections & outreach so women feel  empowered & hopeful. We believe no woman diagnosed under age 40 should be left to face breast cancer alone.
The Seattle Affiliate was formed in 2002 by a group of young survivors turned volunteers and advocates. Since then we are proud to have served over 130 young women with breast cancer in the Puget Sound region. For many, this is their first opportunity to connect with other young survivors. We provide support during the difficult times of diagnosis or recurrence, surgery and recovery and help women to gradually process their experience and find their “new normal.”

YOUNG SURVIVAL COALITION SEATTLE
1400 Broadway Ave East
Seattle, WA 98122
206.322.9965
866.541.1972 x4
www.youngsurvival.org/seattle
Young women facing breast cancer together.

Join the fight! Participate in a breast cancer research study!

The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the Avon Foundation for Women, a global leader in breast cancer research, joined forces to launch the Love/Avon Army of Women. It is their goal to recruit one million healthy women of every age and ethnicity, including breast cancer survivors and women at high-risk for the disease, to partner with breast cancer researchers and directly participate in the research that will eradicate breast cancer once and for all.

The Army of Women is currently recruiting Black/African American women living in the United States who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time (stage I, II, or III) to participate in a study. This study will look at why there are differences in breast cancer treatment experiences between Black/African American women and White/European American women in the United States - this study is called "Protocol for Narrowing the Gap in Adjuvant Therapy," or the Gap Study.

African American women are more likely to die of breast cancer than Caucasian women, even though fewer African American women are getting breast cancer each year and screening use has improved. This difference has gotten worse over the past 20 years. This Gap Study was designed to gather the information needed to better understand the differences in breast cancer treatment experiences between Black/African American Women and White/European American Women. The researchers want to know more about how to improve the survival rates of women with breast cancer.

Participants in the Gap Study will be asked to complete a 30-40 minute telephone survey about your health related experiences and to allow your medical records to be reviewed by the doctor. If you are interested in participating in this study or know someone who might be, please visit the Army of Women website. Or, if you think you might be eligible for other studies, please take a look at other current projects.

The Army of Women is dedicated to representing all women in research so that the research results will apply to all women. They encourage all women to get involved. Breast cancer has been around for decades, but it does not have to be our future. We can be the generation that stops breast cancer once and for all by figuring out what causes this disease and how to prevent it! This is YOUR chance to be part of the research that will end breast cancer.

Excerpted from Health Access - YWCA with permission.