Feb 28, 2009 8:16 am US/Eastern
Educating Those With Disabilities On Breast Cancer
WEST PALM BEACH (CBS4) ―
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The Susan G. Komen for the Cure tries to educate and also find ways to prevent breast cancer.
CBS
The Jewish Association for Residential Care recently received a $10,000 grant from South Florida's Susan G. Komen for the Cure to help educate adults with developmental disabilities about breast cancer.
Marsha Gerstell lives at a home for adults with special needs. The Jewish Association For Residential Care has ten group homes and a supported living program where those special adults receive vocational training to learn skills that will help them get jobs in the community.
They also learn about the risk factors associated with breast cancer.
One can't help but cheer for Marsha when she wins one of life's small victories.
"I found a cyst right back here. There's a couple of them and I went to my house, to my mother and I said, Daisy, there's big trouble here. I found something."
Marsha added, "My aunt, may she rest in peace, she had cancer. I have cancer in my family; she (my aunt) was very sick. My uncle had cancer, too. The whole family has cancer."
Marsha and other adults like herself have been taught life-saving lessons on how to perform a self exam.
Nancy Friewald, community outreach director, Jewish Assoc. For Residential Care, explained "The Komen Foundation was interested in having someone develop a program to help teach women and men with special needs and developmental disabilities to be more aware of their bodies to understand the risk factors for breast cancer and to do breast self examination."
For Marsha, the lessons on performing a self exam paid off. She alerted doctors to a cyst and now they are monitoring it, proving programs like these can be real life savers.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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