RCCS Hosts Women’s Health Event in Crown Heights

CROWN HEIGHTS [CHI] — The third Crown Heights Women’s Health Awareness Seminar hosted by Rofeh Cholim Chaim Society (RCCS) and sponsored by Maimonides Cancer Center was held on Tuesday evening. A panel of experts from Maimonides Cancer Center and the director of the Crown Heights chapter of RCCS volunteers addressed the crowd of close to 400 in the Razag Ballroom.

The primary focus of the evening’s seminar was to bring about an elevated awareness in Crown Heights that there are ways to lower the risk of breast cancer by conducting regular examinations, scheduling annual mammograms and clinical exams, living a nutritious lifestyle, and seeking genetic screening and counseling when deemed necessary. The keynote speaker, Dr. Patrick I. Borgen, the chief of surgery at Maimonides Medical Center, spoke of new developments within cancer treatments and various forms of prevention.

Dr. Borgen explained that although cancer is the second leading cause of death in women, and breast cancer is the second most common cancer that women may face in their lifetime, medical advancements decrease the mortality rate 2% each year. “Cancer is not just a disease,” the surgeon declared. “It is a family of diseases” for it affects one’s family, career, finances, and general day-to-day life.

Mrs. Bella Rubashkin, community member and director of the Crown Heights chapter of RCCS, shared her story of overcoming the disease. “Resolve to be your own health advocate,” Mrs. Rubashkin challenged the crowd. In her quest to raise this awareness in Crown Heights, she told her personal story titled, “By Chance,” as her growth was only discovered after a chance encounter with an iridologist. “Dare to believe in Divine Providence that is threaded all throughout our lives,” emphasized the survivor.

Rofeh Cholim Chaim Society is a 501 c (3) non-profit organization that helps cancer patients obtain the best health care possible by helping them obtain and/or pay for health insurance policies. RCCS also attends to the emotional needs of the entire family through programs such as support groups, cancer prevention seminars, cancer research, and supportive hospital liaisons.

In regard to the preventative and supportive measures that health seminars offer this community, RCCS Executive Director Rabbi Yosef C. Golding said, “Following previous seminars, several attendees were alerted of cancerous growths and were therefore able to detect and treat cancer at an early stage.”

“Factually, since last year, one hundred patients have dropped off of our insurance roles and we are no longer paying for their insurance policies,” Rabbi Golding noted. Unfortunately, more than one hundred new patients have already replaced those hundred. “Of those hundred, 80 no longer require treatment because they are in remission or cured, thank G-d. 80% is a very good number.”

The gathering, which was in memory of Chaya Mushka Gottleib and in support of Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin’s release from prison, also served as a fundraiser for RCCS, with many attendees leaving generous donations for the organization’s continued work. Rabbi Golding underlined the importance of the community’s support of the non-profit: “We are there to help patients with all of their insurance needs and we need the support of the Crown Heights community to continue our support to this community and to Shluchim throughout the United States.”

For more information on RCCS visit www.rofehcholim.org.
For more information on Maimonides Medical Center visit www.maimonidesmed.org.