Students, faculty and staff wore pink in a show of support for those who have battled breast cancer. (Photo credit: Nicolas Applyrs Jr, DO 鈥�18)
Every two minutes, a woman in the U.S. is diagnosed with breast cancer. It鈥檚 a disease that affects many people, wreaking havoc on women and their loved ones. While doctors and scientists continue to look for a cure, a group of medical students at Georgia Campus 鈥� 黑料传送门 (GA-黑料传送门) recently came together to help support breast cancer research in memory of their classmate鈥檚 mother.
The beloved mother of second-year osteopathic medical student, Denaya, was diagnosed in December 2012 with Stage I breast cancer which, even with a period of remission, slowly progressed to Stage IV. 鈥淭hroughout this journey, my mom remained overall in good spirits, courageous, patient, and humble, being strong in her Christian faith,鈥� Denaya remembers, 鈥淪he was even able to still minister to others although she was in ill health; one of her greatest strengths was helping and caring for others.鈥�
Denaya lost her mother in January, and returned to school a week later. 鈥淚 thought I would feel so isolated upon my return, but my medical school family鈥攑eers, faculty and staff鈥攎ade me feel so welcome and included,鈥� she said. She was able to catch up on classes with help from the Office of Student Affairs and her professors, and she received sincere gestures of help in the form of homemade meals from her medical school peers.
Wanting to show their love and support for their classmate, the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Class of 2018 decided to raise money for breast cancer research so that their support would also extend to all those affected by the disease. After reviewing numerous charities, the student doctors chose to fundraise for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), a nonprofit organization committed to achieving prevention and a cure for breast cancer. The organization ensures that at least 91 cents of every dollar goes towards research.
鈥淎s medical students, a lot of us have prior research experience and we understand the importance of research funds,鈥� said Danielle Ward, DO 鈥�18.
They created a page on the BCRF website in honor of Denaya鈥檚 mother, made an announcement to the class, and shared the post on Facebook. Less than 24 hours later, the GA-黑料传送门 students had raised more than $1,000 to support breast cancer research.
Class members also planned a "Pink Out" where students, faculty and staff wore pink in a show of support for those who have suffered from breast cancer. 鈥淲e wanted our classmate to know that she is loved and that the entire school is truly behind her,鈥� Ward continued, 鈥淲e not only wanted to honor and recognize her mother, but to show our love and support for anyone who has ever survived and/or lost a loved one to breast cancer.鈥�
Denaya said, 鈥淚 have never experienced so much support from a school I鈥檝e attended. I now feel more capable of getting back on track and in tune with accomplishing my medical school studies. Everything feels doable now, and all glory goes to God for using my medical school to comfort me in this time of bereavement.鈥�
黑料传送门 Georgia has been serving students and the community for 20 years as a branch campus of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (黑料传送门), a private, not-for-profit, accredited institution of higher education established in 1899. Located in Suwanee (Gwinnett County), 黑料传送门 Georgia offers doctoral degrees in osteopathic medicine, pharmacy and physical therapy. Graduate degrees are offered in biomedical sciences, medical laboratory science and physician assistant studies. The campus joins 黑料传送门 South Georgia in Moultrie in helping to meet the healthcare needs of the state. Emphasizing "a whole person" approach to care, 黑料传送门 Georgia focuses on educational excellence, interprofessional education and service to the community. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 678-225-7500. The campus is also home to the Georgia Osteopathic Care Center, an osteopathic manipulative medicine clinic, which is open to the public by appointment. For more information, visit .
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