For the second year in a row, Prince George’s County, Maryland, launched its monthlong countywide breast cancer awareness program.
It’s called “Prince George’s Goes Pink,” said Sonja Welborne, director of stakeholder engagement and affairs for the county executive’s office.
“It’s a scary time when you have to go back for a mammogram or when you feel that lump,” she said. “We wanted to raise awareness to make sure the resources are available to the residents.”
The campaign is made up of a series of events that offer checkups, mammograms and insurance information to women.
Welborne said organizers received a slew of positive feedback after last year’s pilot launch. The county decided to do it again.
But this year, organizers added two new events, one focuses on men with breast cancer and another links survivors with current patients.
“We decided let’s do a survivors’ lounge so we can have a more comfortable, intimate conversation and talk about things that if you have not gone through breast cancer, we may not have even thought about,” Welborne said.
“And everybody has a story, and we wanted that story to be shared, in a safe space.”
The county has a pressing reason to host the pink initiative.
One in eight women in the U.S. develop breast cancer in their lifetime, and African American women have a 40% higher death rate from the disease than other women nationwide.
Prince George’s County is mostly Black, Welborne said, and cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the county.
“Our rates are alarming,” Welborne told WTOP.
The county also has plans to open a free-standing cancer center next year. The University of Maryland Capital Region Cancer Center is expected to begin admitting patients in spring 2024.
Welborne said that Prince George’s County is the only county in the state without a cancer center.
“That’s why this big initiative is a time where we can rally around loved ones,” she said. “It’s a time to bring so many resources to them that they may not even know they have.”
Check out the full list of the Prince George’s Goes Pink events.
