Thursday, January 15, 2015
Fairfield — On January 21, jumpstart your January at one of seven area fitness centers with a Day of Wellness, a breast cancer awareness event highlighting the importance of exercise and good nutrition for general health and to prevent breast and other cancers.
Volunteers from the Norma Pfriem Breast Center will be distributing information on breast health, breast self-exams and cancer screening. The Norma Pfriem Breast Center, the first free-standing, community-based breast care center in Connecticut, has been helping women in the community fight breast cancer for fifteen years.
Amanda Mason, a member of the Breast Center’s President’s Council and a survivor, will be among the volunteers, answering questions. “I feel it’s important to get the message out about the benefits of exercise and eating well… Even a little can make a difference and get you moving in the right direction.” Mason, who turned to other survivors for advice and strength when she was going through treatment, will also share her experience as a breast cancer survivor. “I know how important it was for me to talk to other women who had been treated for breast cancer when I was going through it. I thought ‘if they could do it, so could I.’”
Enter a raffle to win a massage with Karen Pirhalla, a massage therapist and Reiki master practicing in Fairfield, or a personally designed yoga session with Colleen Reilly, an integrative Kundalini yoga instructor, with practices in Fairfield and Ocean Grove, New Jersey.
The event takes place from 8:00 a.m. - noon and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the following locations:
Nancy Church, the Breast Care Center’s Community Education Coordinator says, “At the Norma Pfriem Breast Care Center we believe that education and prevention are the best means to staying healthy.”
Part of Bridgeport Hospital and the Yale New Haven Health System, the Norma Pfriem Breast Center has served more than 20,000 women and their families since it was established in 1999. One of only 200 sites accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NPBC), the Center provides a wide range of diagnostic care and treatment at its Bridgeport Hospital and Fairfield locations, including medical oncology, surgical and chemotherapy services, plastic surgery, mammography and radiation therapy, and genetic risk assessment as well as opportunities to participate in clinical trials. The Breast Center office at 111 Beach Road in Fairfield also provides comprehensive women’s wellness services, including nutrition counseling, massage and Reiki therapy, wig and prosthesis fitting, counseling, yoga, Pilates, naturopathic medicine, and other patient support activities. The Center has a satellite office on Park Avenue in Trumbull. The Center is a member of the prestigious National Consortium of Breast Care Centers. For more information call (203) 255-5300 or visit online.
Bridgeport Hospital, part of Yale New Haven Health, is a non-profit 501-bed acute care hospital with two campuses (plus 42 beds licensed to Yale New Haven Children's Hospital). Its Bridgeport and Milford Campuses serve patients from across the region. The hospital admits more than 23,000 patients and provides nearly 350,000 outpatient treatments annually. The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital is the only burn center in the state and one of only 64 verified burn centers in the United States. Bridgeport Hospital is committed to providing safe, compassionate and cost efficient care to its patients and the community. www.bridgeporthospital.org
