FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CONTACT: Theresa Mulkins, Director of Public Relations
OFFICE: (845) 483-6418
MOBILE: (845) 416-0377
tmulkins@health-quest.org

Poughkeepsie, NY – August 7, 2012 – If you could change the course of breast cancer survivorship by simply sharing your experience, would you? Studies show that women with breast cancer who receive the right social and emotional support may experience less distress, better health and improved quality of life. However, more research is needed.

That is why Vassar Brothers Medical Center is participating in the Breast Center M.A.P. Project. This information-gathering and research project supported by the Cancer Support Community is designed to help increase understanding of the full impact of breast cancer and to discover new resources available to support survivors’ needs. Breast cancer survivors who have received diagnosis or treatment at Vassar Brothers Medical Center through the Dyson Center for Cancer Care, Fishkill Radiation Oncology, Ulster Radiation Oncology or the Health Quest Medical Practice Division of Breast Surgery are encouraged to enroll.

The program is voluntary and consists of a series of questions about survivors’ individual breast cancer experience. All responses are confidential. Participants will be able to see other women’s responses to each question, minus any identifying information, thus aiding participants in making more informed decisions about complex cancer-related issues. For information on the study and how to register please call Erika Mednick at 845-483-6456.

Vassar Brothers Medical Center is a 365-bed facility that has been serving New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley since 1887. Located on the banks of the Hudson River, Vassar Brothers has established centers of excellence in cardiac services, cancer care and women and children’s health services. As a regional medical center, Vassar Brothers houses the area’s first and only cardiothoracic surgery center between Westchester and Albany and delivers more babies than any other hospital between Manhattan and Montreal.

Vassar Brothers is an affiliate of the Health Quest hospital system, which also includes Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck and Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel. Health Grades, a leading hospital ratings organization, recently acknowledged Health Quest as “the most recognized health system in the Hudson Valley”.

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