Marian Cancer Care Receives $18,000 from the Teal Journey Ovarian Cancer Foundation
SANTA MARIA, CA – December 22, 2017 – The Marian Regional Medical Center (MRMC) Foundation is the grateful beneficiary of The Teal Journey Ovarian Cancer Foundation’s largest donation to-date of $18,000 in support of Marian Cancer Care at Mission Hope Cancer Center.
Known with the moniker “silent killer,” ovarian cancer is a remarkably deadly form of cancer with a lower survival rate than many other cancers. Often discovered in late stages, ovarian cancer frequently progresses too quickly to adequately cure the disease from the body.
In response to this great need, The Teal Journey Foundation provided this $18,000 gift through their second charity event hosted in their young history as a newly established foundation. With co-founders Cristina Martins Sinco, Gary McKinsey, and Jay Conner, The Teal Journey Ovarian Cancer Foundation remains focused on promoting education and early detection of ovarian cancer.
All three co-founders have witnessed firsthand the ramifications of cancer with McKinsey losing his wife to ovarian cancer, Martins Sinco losing her mother to ovarian cancer, and Connor losing a multitude of family members to many forms of cancer. Discovering that the resources provided to combat ovarian cancer was rather limited, the three co-founders decided to partner in establishing The Teal Journey Ovarian Cancer Foundation to bring awareness for this deadly disease.
With a promise made to his late wife Julie, McKinsey has made it his mission to educate women and men about ovarian cancer. Joining with Martins Sinco and Connor, they decided to directly help women battling ovarian cancer on the Central Coast by dedicating their promotion efforts of education and early detection. “Usually women do not receive treatment until symptoms are present,” Foundation president Martins Sinco said. “Genetic counseling and testing is a tool that will be used to help monitor any potential ovarian cancer before it becomes a major issue.”
The Teal Journey Ovarian Cancer Foundation gift will be used to benefit genetic counseling and testing for local cancer patients in need at Mission Hope Cancer Center. “We are truly fortunate to have this facility here,” McKinsey stated after making the significant $18,000 gift. “There is a lot of misinformation out there when it comes to ovarian cancer and our mission is to help educate women and men alike.”
“The Teal Journey Foundation is a tremendous resource for our Central Coast community. Having a deeply committed local organization that is focused on ovarian cancer awareness and outreach is such a blessing for patients and families. Our partnership with this amazing group of people improves the quality of life for our current patients with ovarian cancer and may even save lives in the future," says Christopher Lutman, gynecologic oncologist at Mission Hope Cancer Center.
Mission Hope Cancer Center (MHCC), located on the Marian Regional Medical Center campus, is the region’s only advanced comprehensive cancer care center. Highly specialized physicians, oncology nurses and therapists provide integrated oncology care to the Central Coast. Mission Hope features the most advanced technology and provides the entire spectrum of cancer care and a multitude of support services and therapies. MHCC is affiliated with the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and provides advanced opportunities for patients to participate in clinical trials. It is accredited as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer and received seven commendations. Mission Hope is a recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award, which is the highest designation awarded to community cancer centers and Marian is one of only three designated programs between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
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About Marian Regional Medical Center
Marian Regional Medical Center, located in Santa Maria, California, is a technologically advanced, 191-bed facility that provides safe, quality care to the communities it serves. Marian has been a recipient of the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence for four consecutive years, and was also named among the Top 10% in the Nation for Critical Care by Healthgrades. Marian is designated a STEMI Receiving Center in Santa Barbara County, and is designated a Level III Trauma Center by Santa Barbara County’s Emergency Medical Services Agency. The facility has achieved prestigious designation as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission for advanced, comprehensive care for stroke patients. Our cancer care program is accredited as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer, and is one of only three programs between Los Angeles and San Francisco to receive an Outstanding Achievement Award.
The campus houses the most comprehensive perinatology/ neonatology program on the Central Coast, providing specialized care to the tiniest of patients. Marian is a member of Dignity Health Central Coast, which also includes Arroyo Grande Community Hospital in Arroyo Grande, CA, French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, CA, St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, CA, and St. John’s Pleasant Valley in Camarillo, CA. Dignity Health of the Central Coast is an integrated network of top quality hospitals, physicians from the most prestigious medical schools, and comprehensive outpatient services including primary care offices, premier ambulatory surgery centers, technologically-advanced laboratories and imaging centers and a full service home health agency; all recognized for quality, safety and service. Each hospital is supported by an active philanthropic Foundation to help meet the growing health care needs of our communities.
About Dignity Health
Dignity Health, one of the nation’s largest health care systems, is a 22-state network of more than 9,000 physicians, 63,000 employees, and 400 care centers, including hospitals, urgent and occupational care, imaging and surgery centers, home health, and primary care clinics. Headquartered in San Francisco, Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. In FY17, Dignity Health provided $2.6 billion in charitable care and community services. For more information, please visit our website at www.dignityhealth.org.
Publish date:
Friday, December 22, 2017