Pink Polar Bear Golf Tournament Returns to Chestertown

Members of the Chester River Yacht & Country Club organized and participated in the sixth annual Pink Polar Bear Golf Tournament on Sunday, July 25, raising $2,610 to benefit patients served in the Eleanor & Ethel Leh Women's Center at UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown. This year's event attracted 84 club members.

Since 2015, the event has raised more than $20,000 to support breast cancer detection at the hospital.

"We call it the Pink Polar Bear tournament because early on, it was explained to us that finding breast cancer can be like trying to find a polar bear in a blizzard," said Jane Hukill, tournament co-chair and hospital volunteer. "When we saw the capabilities of the tomosynthesis in mammography, we had to do our part to support the continued availability of this technology in Chestertown."

According to Kelly Bottomley, UM Shore Regional Health's Outpatient Imaging Manager, "Mammography is the medical 'gold standard' to identify breast cancer." The Eleanor & Ethel Leh Women's Center, which opened in October 2013, was the first facility on the Delmarva Peninsula to offer 3-D digital mammography with tomosynthesis, which can find breast cancer at the earliest possible stage. This capability is now available throughout the five-county area served by Shore Regional Health.

The Leh Center performs more than 2,800 mammograms each year and also offers bone density and BMI (body mass index) evaluation services, breast surgery, breast reconstruction surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery services.

Tournament co-chair and hospital volunteer Gwinn Derricott said, "Everyone says that this is the most fun tournament they play in because of the format and the camaraderie. We've come a long way from a group of nine and 18-hole lady golfers. We're looking forward to many more tournaments."