Donation Benefits Magee-Womens Breast Cancer Program
By: Allison Hydzik
A Glimmer of Hope Foundation founder Diana Napper visited Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC yesterday to deliver a $132,775 check to the leaders, staff and physicians of the hospital’s Breast Cancer Program. But the moment revolved around so much more than the piece of paper.
Nearly half of the 2014 Glimmer funds will be dedicated to a pilot program for a Multi-disciplinary Pre-menopausal Breast Cancer Consultation Center, an initiative that Napper has been dreaming about for years. “It is a dream come true to see this consultation center begin coming to life,” says Napper. “We’ve operated with a mission to provide a real, tangible service to these young women for so long and this center will truly be a keystone initiative to offering them the support that they need.” The funding for the Multi-disciplinary Pre-menopausal Breast Cancer Consultation Center will allow Magee to pilot the concept for six months as one of only a handful of academic medical centers in the country to offer this type of multispecialty clinic for women with complicated breast cancers. “We will develop several outcome metrics to measure during the pilot period such as timeliness of care, patient satisfaction, patient compliance,” says Judy Herstine, Program Administrator for Magee-Womens Cancer Program of UPMC CancerCenter, partner with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. “These metrics will give us the ability to better determine the most beneficial approach to care for young women with complicated breast cancer.” For the past 20 years, the Glimmer of Hope Foundation has worked tirelessly to raise funds for pre-menopausal breast cancer research organizations such as the Womens Cancer Services program at Magee-Womens Hospital. The funding provided by Glimmer of Hope has enabled the program to hire full time consultants and counselors focused on breast cancer services and have funded much needed research initiatives in the field. Glimmer’s annual Bid for Hope fundraiser, hosted with support from the Steelers Organization every October by Heath and Katie Miller and Alan and Julie Faneca, raises a significant portion of these funds, $80,000 in 2013 alone. In 2014, the remaining donation will continue to fund Genetic Counseling and Patient Navigator positions within the program.
