Most women do not look forward to their annual mammograms. After all, who wants to be reminded that there is a 1 in 8 chance that you might get breast cancer in your lifetime? When I was diagnosed at age 43, it came as an unwelcome shock – I was not only young, but I had no family history whatsoever, ate well, exercised… and for those who remember my February 2006, well… it was already a bad week before I got this news!
Throughout my care, and ever since, I have kept wondering what would have happened had I not had that one screening mammogram. It didn’t take long to realize that this mammo had saved my life, and that there were countless women who hadn’t been as lucky as I was to be diagnosed at Stage I.
Over the past four years, I have become a passionate advocate for the early detection of breast cancer. I have tried my best to create awareness and to reach out to physicians, politicians, insurance companies, and women all over the country. As I learned more about breast cancer, mammography, and early detection, it was obvious that much of the system was still fragmented and, simply put, broken. Even though I had dodged my own cancer bullet, the stories I heard from many other survivors clearly reminded me that there was much to be done for women in America.
Many of the problems with the breast health system in this country are inherently due to a disunited approach – for the most part, centers ignore the value of comprehensive care, they employ failing business models and lack technological sophistication.
In 2008, I first heard about the Pink Lotus Breast Center, an organization started by Dr. Kristi Funk, one of the most respected and talented breast cancer surgeons in the country. I feel fortunate to have had Dr. Funk as my surgical oncologist; I experienced her commitment to comprehensive patient care and surgical artistry first hand, and was thrilled to know that women around the country could benefit from the same treatment I had received, inside a health system that works!
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The Pink Lotus Breast Center is unique in so many ways, but most importantly, it was created as the only fully integrative and comprehensive solution for breast cancer patients available today, and was built from the ground up to support a woman’s treatment needs at any level imaginable.
As I searched for ways to cause awareness and give back, the Pink Lotus Breast Center became the ideal platform to reach out to women across the nation, and the only breast health organization that met the comprehensive levels of care that I believe every woman in America is entitled to receive.
To advance early detection, and to support the efforts of this incredibly innovative organization, I am thrilled to announce the launch of the Sheryl Crow Imaging Center, a state of the art breast imaging center featuring the latest advancements in digital screening and diagnostic imaging technologies. Our location in Los Angeles is based in Beverly Hills, inside the flagship Pink Lotus Breast Center.
With announcements like these always come many questions. I want to take this opportunity to state that the purpose of my partnership is not financial gain, and that it was created solely to support you, the patient, to ensure that you would receive the best breast care possible. As a breast cancer survivor myself, helping other women catch the disease early, and helping them through treatment, is something I am proud to fully support with my name.
I hope our imaging center will positively touch your life, or the life of someone you love.
Much health to all of you!
Sheryl
