New Jersey Jewish News
Monmouth County Feature Story
Hadassah health awareness program urges area students to ‘check it out’
When Hadassah initiated its first Check It Out program in Texas in 1992, the health awareness program for teens addressed a small group of young women who had a lot to learn about breast cancer.
Fourteen years later, Check It Out is among the programming activities of many Hadassah chapters throughout the United States, including those in Red Bank and Ocean Township. The subject matter has also expanded; the program now includes information on testicular health awareness and the importance of self-esteem among young men and women.
By visiting high schools throughout Monmouth County, Hadassah members are fulfilling the program’s goals, which include increasing awareness of breast and testicular health, providing information on self-exams, and galvanizing participation so young men and women bring the message home to the adults in their lives.
Healthcare professionals, volunteers from the American Cancer Society, several Hadassah members, and at least one breast cancer survivor are present during most of the scheduled visits in Monmouth County. Literature from the ACS on breast and testicular health and self-examination training is distributed, and audience members also view a short video that demonstrates the correct breast self-examination technique. (The video is a study in diversity; teens of different ethnic backgrounds and weight classes appear on camera to perform self-exams.)
A separate testicular self-examination video, a brochure, and a presentation by a male healthcare professional are available for boys. A question-and-answer session follows all presentations.
The programs are scheduled in conjunction with the health services staff of participating schools, according to Shelley Kaplan, organizational vice president of Hadassah’s Ocean Township chapter and a member of Hadassah’s southern regional board.
For the past 12 years, the chapter has brought the program to Ocean Township High School, Hillel High School in Ocean Township, and the Academy of Allied Health and Science in Neptune, Kaplan said. Most visits take place during January and February, but the schedule is flexible in accordance with the dynamics of each school.
The program reaches more than 400 students each year, she added.
Hadassah’s Red Bank chapter offered Check It Out for 10 years; the program’s last presentation took place in 2005, and the chapter is exploring new ways to meet the needs of area schools, according to Sue Beller of Little Silver, a former chapter president and vice president who has been involved with the health awareness program since 2001. The program, which took place during school health classes and special assemblies, may resume next year, Beller said.
Until the recent hiatus, the Red Bank chapter took the program on an annual basis to between 10 and 15 county high schools, including those in Asbury Park and Middletown. Many Catholic high schools also elected to host the program, and in 2005, Monmouth University in West Long Branch was added to the list, Beller said. Audience size at each location ranged from 200 students to 15 students per session.
“Initially, we sent letters to school health departments and told them about the program’s availability,” Beller said. “Some schools had their own curriculum that dealt with these topics, while others welcomed our input.”
Eventually, she said, the chapter’s Check It Out program reached more than 1,000 students every year.
Although the health awareness literature and video have always been invaluable parts of each presentation, the testimony of breast cancer survivors often has the greatest impact on the young audience members, according to Jackie Tobin, chair of the Ocean Township chapter’s Check It Out program.
“It’s the survivors who personalize the issue,” said Tobin, an Ocean Township resident. “They’ve been through everything that the program addresses. Their testimony is very powerful.
“One survivor who was diagnosed at age 27 told the students that she had attended a breast health awareness seminar when she was 17 years old,” Tobin continued. “The program made her aware of the changes in her breasts that could occur during those 10 years. She consulted a doctor when she noticed some changes that seemed abnormal. Her awareness played a big role in saving her life.”
Members of the New Jersey Young Survivors Coalition often accompanied the Red Bank chapter members’ presentations and had an equally significant impact on the students, added Beller.
“They helped the students realize that breast cancer is not a disease that only affects older women — it can strike at any age,” she said. “They were young women who could relate to a young audience, and their message was uplifting and inspiring. They survived breast cancer, moved on with their lives, and remain committed to spreading the importance of health awareness.”
The comfort level established by the facilitators often resulted in spirited discussions at the conclusion of each session, Kaplan said.
“Some of the young women brought up highly personal issues and asked questions they never felt comfortable enough to ask in any other environment,” she said. “The opportunity to ask these types of questions is one of the most important parts of this program. And now these young people, especially high school seniors who are leaving home and might not have mom or dad nearby anymore, know there are resources available if there is something they need to discuss.”
And they have learned to become their own health advocates, Tobin said.
“They now have a secure knowledge base,” she said. “They can become aware of and understand the changes in their own bodies, and that baseline knowledge will empower them to preserve their health.”
(Those interested in additional information about Check It Out® can call Hadassah’s regional office in Neptune at 732-643-1100 or visit the Hadassah Web site.)
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