In this Article
Powerhouse duo, Ola Fojtasek and Amanda Shufeldt, lead this year’s effort.
In this Article
When Baylor Scott & White Dallas Foundation invited Ola Fojtasek to serve as the 2023 Celebrating Women Luncheon chair, she was quick to respond. Ola replied, “I have seen firsthand how we as a community can impact the fight against breast cancer and am honored to lead this year’s effort alongside my highly accomplished friend and 2023 Celebrating Women underwriting chair, Amanda Shufeldt.
“So many of us have friends or family who have faced, or are currently facing, a breast cancer diagnosis. I am so grateful for the impact that Celebrating Women has had in their journeys and for all the ways that Baylor Scott & White has been there for so many of our loved ones,” said Ola.
Presented by Tom Thumb and Albertsons Companies Foundation, the 24th annual Celebrating Women Luncheon will be held on Monday, October 30, 2023, at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. Over the last 23 years, Celebrating Women has raised more than $38 million to advance the fight against breast cancer in North Texas. Thanks to this generous community support, Baylor Scott & White Health has made a significant impact for women and families facing a breast cancer diagnosis by investing in:
Early detection
With support from Celebrating Women, Baylor Scott & White launched the High-Risk Breast Screening Program to help women better understand their personal risk and provide recommendations regarding additional screening tests, monitoring and preventive measures. The program has expanded to all BSW imaging centers across North Texas and has helped identify more than 11,000 women at high risk since it launched in 2020.
Patient Navigation
In 2022, Celebrating Women funded a patient navigator to best support those who stay at the American Cancer Society Gene and Jerry Jones Family Hope Lodge while receiving their cancer care. Donor support also helps fund our oncology patient navigation program, which provides those facing a cancer diagnosis with someone to walk hand in hand with them throughout their journey—identifying barriers, answering questions and offering support.
Care for Underserved Communities
The Celebrating Women Gift of Life Fund was established to assist women in need of breast cancer services who are unable to afford their care. Donors have contributed more than $2 million to support this effort at Baylor Scott & White.
Generous donors to Celebrating Women have also advanced innovative research in the fight against breast cancer, including meaningful support from the Mary Kay Ash Foundation. Their most recent gift is creating hope for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) through a novel clinical trial focused on enhancing treatment options and outcomes.
Enrolling patients in summer 2023, this clinical trial aims to provide an innovative therapeutic strategy for TNBC patients who have chest wall recurrence that has been unsuccessfully treated with standard chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and for whom standard therapeutic options have been exhausted. TNBC accounts for 15%–20% of breast cancers and is the most aggressive form of the disease. For patients battling metastatic chemotherapy-resistant TNBC, there are very few effective therapeutic options and a short life
span of approximately 12 months.
The hypothesis for this clinical trial was conceived by Celebrating Women Chair in Breast Cancer Research Joyce O’Shaughnessy, MD, after she analyzed outcomes from a trio of clinical trials—including a study funded by the Mary Kay Ash Foundation in 2020.
“There’s been huge progress over the last 20 years in our understanding of breast cancer, but we still have about 20% of women for whom we don’t have answers. Trials like this bring us one
step closer to finding them,” said Dr. O’Shaughnessy. “I believe we will see the next quantum leap in diagnosis and treatment options very soon, and I am grateful for the countless donors who invest in research to advance this fight.”
For more information on how you can sponsor or support this year’s
effort, call 214.820.4500 or visit BSWHealth.com/CelebratingWomen.
