Women throughout the region flocked to Parx Casino in Bensalem Saturday to take part in free breast cancer screenings, which were provided by a Penn Medicine van. Photo by James Short.
Last Saturday, Parx Casino volunteers hosted a free breast cancer screening event at its venue, stationing a state-of-the-art mammography van in the parking lot to serve women ages 40 and older.
The offering was part of a series of efforts the casino is making throughout October to advance breast cancer research, prevention, and treatment. Last week, Parx announced a $10,000 donation to Penn Medicine’s Basser Center for BRCA (breast cancer susceptibility genes) which administered the screenings on Saturday morning. In 2012, Penn’s Basser Center, located just 21 miles southwest of Parx in University City, became the first site on earth pursuing a comprehensive mission to study, treat, and prevent BRCA-related ailments.
On Friday, Parx held Spin for Strength, during which casino guests could spin a Pink Mega Wheel to win slot-play prizes of up to $500 and a special Breast Cancer Awareness Month Parx t-shirt.
To promote Parx’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month Fundraiser, all Parx restaurants and bars in Bucks County are serving a special Pink Lady Cocktail made with gin, applejack, freshly squeezed lemon juice, grenadine, egg white, and maraschino cherry garnish.
Casino officials attributed the inspiration for these activities to their own media relations chief and event co-host Carrie Nork Minelli who herself tested positive for a BRCA gene mutation, which had put her chances of getting breast cancer at 80%. Minelli said she owed much of her own zeal for this matter to her mother, Carol Nork — still Minelli’s “north star” — who lost her life to BRCA-related cancer.
Parx Bensalem's media relations chief and event co-host, Carrie Nork Minelli, has the BRCA genes herself and was at the core of Parx Casino's hosting of breast cancer screening and prevention measures. (Image By James Short) Both Minelli and her mom received care at the University of Pennsylvania health system. Minelli credits the Basser Center with keeping her mother alive for years longer than she otherwise would have been and in greater comfort than she may otherwise have had.
In high spirits amidst Parx’s anti-cancer efforts, Minelli has herself endured a trying journey. Earlier this year, she underwent a double mastectomy for preventive purposes.
“I had [the mutation], and I did not have the cancer, so I thought, let me just go through with this and do it,” she said, noting that all people have BRCA genes and that a mutation in those genes is what leads to related cancers. “It was scary, and it was painful and all the things, but… I am through it, and I’m on the other end, and I encourage everyone who has this in their life to undergo testing [and] potential treatment, work with your doctors and understand what is good for you, and then make a decision that works for you. And that worked for me: I took control of it, and I am not going to have breast cancer in my life.”
Minelli said the Basser Center van would be especially useful to women at risk for breast cancer who lack healthcare coverage.
“There’re a lot of people here who do not have health-care insurance who are getting their mammograms,” she said. “They haven’t been able to get them… so I think it’s incredible that they’re coming.”
Parx’s anti-cancer endeavors extend beyond Bucks County. Parx Shippensburg in south-central Pennsylvania is donating $5,000 to the Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance. The Shippensburg casino is hosting its own Spin for Strength on Oct. 17 from 2 to 10 p.m.
As soon as the Bensalem event began, dozens had lined up to receive screenings. Pat Hemingway, a Philadelphia resident who came because she was due for a mammogram and had a history of breast cancer in her family, praised Parx for its work against the disease and echoed Minelli’s encouragement of those at risk to take proper precautions.
A mammogram screening van, as part of Penn Medicine's offerings, was brought to Parx Casino in Bensalem to offer free screenings for women 40 and over. (Image By James Short) “Don’t wait,” she said. “Go get your mammogram. Be cautious, be ahead of the game; the quicker you find something out, the better off you are.”
