Annual health and cancer prevention event attracts 500+ women

More than 500 women were welcomed recently to the J.W. Marriott in Tampa for AdventHealth’s Third Annual Women’s Health and Cancer Prevention Event. Along with breakfast and lunch, giveaways and goodie bags, the menu featured a variety of health services, including critical screenings and informative sessions on cervical cancer, breast cancer, heart health, leaky bladder, fad diets, chronic insomnia and aging gracefully.

Besides the medical insights provided by leading women’s health experts, the event also offered a sense of community and support.

The price of admission? A $10 donation to the Kay Meyer Breast Center at AdventHealth Tampa to provide free mammograms for women in need. Rachel Burke, MD, director of the center, wants to make it easier for women to know what to watch out for. Her presentation was focused on the importance of yearly mammograms.

"I do my best work finding cancers when patients have no symptoms,” Dr. Burke shared with FOX13. “That's when they're earliest, smallest. They are usually in the earliest stages, and we have our best success rate. Obviously, when patients have a lump, when they do have symptoms of cancer, I want them to come in, obviously urgently, but I don't want them to wait for that point because they're usually more advanced.”