Cancer and other health screenings, food, fun and entertainment on tap
(Baker, La.) Area families are invited to the inaugural Family Health Day, Saturday, July 27 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., located at and hosted by the Baker Heritage Museum & Cultural Center, 1606 Main Street, Baker, LA. In conjunction with Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Center, the goal of the event is to save lives through early detection while providing fun for the whole family. In addition to cancer and other health screenings, the event will include music, refreshments, children’s activities, cooking demonstrations and more.
The Baker Heritage Museum offers a number of community resources, including tools for educators, exhibits all designed to communicate, display and interpret the rich history of the region.
“In addition to offering our traditional services, the Baker Heritage Museum wants to do even more. We want to be a part of helping advance the health and wellbeing of our community,” said Cynthia Grimes, museum director. “Through this partnership with Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center, we want to help impact our area’s legacy by infusing healthy living into the fabric of the community.”
Johnnay Benjamin, director of early detection and education for the Cancer Center, says the Cancer Center partners with organizations throughout Southeast Louisiana to implement events such as Family Health Day.
“The relaxed, family-friendly environment takes some of the fear out of cancer education and early detection,” said Benjamin. “Families can come out, have some food, enjoy some together time and take part in activities that can be potentially lifesaving.”
Family Health Day is a free health event that includes breast, prostate and colorectal cancer screenings, food, children’s activities and entertainment for the entire family. All screenings are available to those who have not been screened for cancer in the past 12 months.
To speak to the importance of early detection, two event champions will be on hand, including Baker Mayor Darnell Waites, a prostate cancer survivor and Lynette Matusicky and Betty Dunn, breast cancer survivors.
While the focus of Family Day will focus on cancer education and early detection, the event goes beyond this one disease and addresses other health problems impacting the region’s residents. In addition to cancer, mortality rates continue to soar as a result of conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes, which can all be linked to lack of physical activity. To help address these issues, blood pressure and glucose checks, as well as healthy diet information and cooking demonstrations will be offered.
Sponsors include: City of Baker, Baker Printing, Joe Williams, Raemel Richardson and Shoppers’ Value.
For more information, please call (225) 215-1234 or (888) 616-4687. For additional information about this event and other upcoming screenings, please visit marybirdlake.org.
About Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center
As a regional destination for cancer care, Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center offers the most advance technology and services provided by a dedicated team of nationally-recognized oncology experts. The Cancer Center provides best-practice, comprehensive care at every stage of the cancer journey, including disease site-specific multidisciplinary care teams, a robust clinical research program, extensive supportive care services and is the only facility in the Gulf South with the revolutionary Leksell Gamma Knife®Icon™. The American College of Surgeons has named the Cancer Center a recipient of its prestigious Outstanding Achievement Award for three consecutive survey cycles. As a nonprofit organization, donor generosity is essential to sustaining the mission of improving survivorship and lessening the burden of cancer for so many throughout Southeast Louisiana and beyond. For more information on the Cancer Center, and how you can become involved, please visit marybirdlake.org.