MedStar to Wear Pink Examination Gloves During October
October 1, 2015 (Fort Worth, Texas)—Maintaining “Universal Precautions” for body substance isolation is paramount in protecting EMS workers from exposure to infectious diseases such as hepatitis, HIV, and Ebola. This year, MedStar’s EMTs and Paramedics are doing that while supporting breast cancer awareness and making a financial contribution to the cause.
In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, MedStar EMTs and paramedics are wearing pink examination gloves during the month of October.
Healthcare supply company, Medline, donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the gloves to the National Breast Cancer Foundation to support breast cancer awareness through education resources, access to free mammograms and support services. Medline has donated more than $1.2 million, which has resulted in nearly 200,000 breast cancer screenings and diagnostic procedures at medical facilities nationwide, as well as countless hours of free education.
“The color really stands out,” said Shannon Rucker, MedStar Paramedic. “Hopefully this will encourage people to think about breast cancer and talk to their doctors; and it’s nice to be able to recognize those who have fought the disease, especially those we have lost,” she added.
Next to skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer type found in women in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 232,670 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed among women in the United States this year.
An estimated 40,000 women are expected to die from the disease in 2014 alone. Fortunately, due in part to research funding and awareness campaigns, today, there are about 2.8 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States.
Early detection is the key to positive outcomes.
In the beginning of the development process, breast cancer is too small to feel and does not cause signs and symptoms that are easily detected by the naked eye or to the touch. As it progresses and grows however, breast cancer can cause changes in how the breasts look or feel. Symptoms to watch out for include:
- A new lump in the breast or underarm (armpit)
- Thickening or swelling of part of the breast
- Irritation or dimpling of breast skin
- Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast
- Pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area
- Nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood
- Any change in the size or the shape of the breast
- Pain in any area of the breast
Regular mammograms are the best tools doctors have found in discovering breast cancer early in its stage. Sometimes mammograms can detect the cancer up to three years before it can be felt. When breast cancer is found in its early stages and treated appropriately, many women have the opportunity to go on to living long and healthy lives.
About MedStar: Responding to over 120,000 calls each year, MedStar Mobile Healthcare is the exclusive emergency and non-emergency ambulance service provider to over 880,000 residents throughout Fort Worth and 14 other Tarrant County cities. Established in 1986, MedStar is governed by the Area Metropolitan Ambulance Authority board of directors, is one of only 135 ambulance services in the country to receive national accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services and they are the only agency to be recognized as an EMS 10 Innovator by JEMS Magazine. MedStar also received the Paid EMS Provider of the Year by EMS World Magazine and the National Association of EMTs in 2013.
