LAKEPORT >> ReRunway Secondhand Fashion Show Fundraiser will offer outrageous fashion and contagious fun at Boatique Winery this Saturday, October 28. Tickets to the event, which begins at 5 p.m., are available at www.sutterlakeside.org/events, or by calling 707-262 -5121.
The second annual show, hosted by Sutter Lakeside Hospital, benefits breast cancer navigation services which are provided for free to patients. Tickets include wine, dinner, a silent auction and a secondhand fashion show that’s sure to entertain. Attendees are encouraged to wear their favorite secondhand outfit or costume as well, should they desire.
Last year, over 70 models sported thrift store fashion to an amused audience of 275 people. Groups and individuals picked themes, dressed accordingly, and strutted their stuff on the catwalk for a cause. The money raised funded a year of navigation services for over 130 local women, more than 30 of whom were diagnosed with breast cancer. Navigation services provide emotional support and counseling, as well as help scheduling appointments, surgery and follow up care.
“From the moment a mammogram comes back with abnormal results, a patient receives the support of her navigator,” said Dan Peterson, chief administrative officer, Sutter Lakeside Hospital. “We started this program as a way to ensure that our patients never battle cancer alone.”
Val Ungewitter, who currently serves as Sutter Lakeside’s patient navigator, is a survivor herself.
“I tested positive for the BRCA gene about ten years ago, and underwent a double mastectomy,” said Ungewitter. “I’m passionate about helping other women through the maze. Oftentimes I’ll get a text from one of my ladies at ten thirty at night, or at six in the morning. I’m available as much as possible because I know how important it is to have someone to lean on.”
When a patient is diagnosed with breast cancer, she stays on navigation service throughout chemotherapy, surgery, radiation and recovery, regardless of where she receives treatment.
“A lot of navigation programs serve women who stay within a particular health system,” said Peterson. “Because of the rural nature of Lake County, we believe it’s best for our patients to receive navigation and support wherever she chooses to go for treatment.”
Statistically, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime, but public health data indicates that women in Lake County have a higher rate than state and national averages. 85-percent of women who have breast cancer have no family history of the disease.
To learn more about ReRunway, or how you can support breast cancer navigation services, visit www.sutterlakeside.org/events.
