JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The girls are young at Showtime USA Cheerleading. But they love their moms. And that is persuasive enough to inspire the mothers to sign up for the Buddy Bus.
The Buddy Bus is the new state-of-the-art way to get your mammogram. The mobile mammography unit, operated by medical experts from Baptist/MD Anderson, will come to your office, school or church to make it easy for women to get mammograms.
To get the Buddy Bus to your group, go to baptistjax.com/buddy.
When the Buddy Bus was revealed on May 12th outside the First Coast News studios, cheerleaders from Showtime USA were there to pump up the spirit. They had practiced for hours to perfect their cheers and announce to the community that the Buddy Bus was finally here. The community spent four years holding fundraisers to raise a million dollars to buy the mobile unit.
USA Showtime Director Ka'Dee Carter says the girls learned about how important mammograms are. In fact, Carter's Grandma Ruby dealt with breast cancer. "But she survived and she lived to be 90-some-odd years old. And she was one of the most wonderful people," Carter says.
Carter has spent time with her cheerleading students at Showtime USA in St. Augustine to teach them about early detection.
And the girls have worked hard to present cheers with lyrics to motivate women to get checked.
Here's one of their cheers:
Go ahead and grab your Buddy / It’s Time for a mobile test
There Is no need to study / C’mon in! We’ll do the rest
Gonna kick that cancer’s booty / When you come and check your breast
You know it’s your wellness duty / Get that burden off your chest!
Miriam, one of the peppy young cheerleaders says, "We're trying to say you should go get your mammogram."
Radiologist at Baptist/MD Anderson recommend women begin mammograms at age 40.
One mom of a cheerleader said she just turned 42 and she planned to come onto the Buddy Bus.
Doctors at Baptist say mammograms can catch a pre-cancer as tiny as grains of sand and put your odds of beating the breast cancer around 98%.
Hats off to Showtime USA and Carter's hard-working cheerleaders for helping save lives. And a special thanks to Pam Masters, Carter's mom, and executive for the Jacksonville Giants, whose cheerleaders have joined in the message to promote the Buddy Bus.
The Buddy Bus is signing up groups now. October is breast cancer month. Why not plan a Pink Day for your office or school? You can request a date for the Buddy Bus to come and make getting a mammo easy.
First Coast News anchor and Buddy Check founder Jeannie Blaylock would love to come to your group and meet everyone. She can talk all about how to catch breast cancer early. Jeannie's email is: jblaylock@firstcoastnews.com
Again, sign up here for the Buddy Bus:
