Olympic Legend Peggy Fleming

Will Headline Women’s Health Benefit Event

FAIRFIELD — Breast cancer survivor and former Olympic figure skating champion Peggy Fleming will be the guest speaker at Bridgeport Hospital’s second annual “Partnering in Women’s Health” event, Monday, May 1, at Sacred Heart University’s Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets are $100 and proceeds will support women’s wellness outreach initiatives of Bridgeport Hospital and the Norma F. Pfriem Breast Care Center. There will be a buffet before the program, and coffee and dessert afterwards. For information, call Bridgeport Hospital Foundation at 203/384-3522.

The program will begin at 6:30 pm. SHU is at 5151 Park Avenue in Fairfield.

“Inner city women are still at high risk of undiagnosed breast cancer and other diseases,” says Hope Juckel-Regan, RN, Bridgeport Hospital’s senior vice president for Patient Care Services and co-chair of the Women’s Wellness Committee. “Proceeds from ‘Partnering in Women’s Health: An Evening with Peggy Fleming’ will help us continue our efforts to reach these women with specialized programs.”

Last year’s inaugural “Partnering in Women’s Health” event featured television newswoman Linda Ellerbee and raised $18,000 that helped launch effective initiatives to encourage inner city women in the greater Bridgeport area to seek breast cancer screenings and learn about asthma management for themselves and their children.

Since winning the United States’ only gold medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, Ms Fleming has skated professionally, starring in several television specials and performing worldwide. She has been an on-air analyst for ABC Sports for more than 17 years.

In 1994, for its 40th anniversary issue, Sports Illustrated named Ms Fleming one of “40 for the Ages – 40 individuals who have most significantly altered or elevated the world of sports in the last 40 years.” She was the only figure skater chosen and one of only four women on the list.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998 when she was 49, Ms Fleming underwent successful surgery – a lumpectomy to remove a tumor from her breast. Since then, she has spoken about her experience with numerous audiences and been a leading advocate of breast cancer awareness, including screening and early detection programs. She lives with her husband of 30 years, Dr Greg Jenkins, a dermatologist, and their two sons, Andy and Todd, in the San Francisco area.

The Women’s Wellness Program at Bridgeport Hospital provides a series of educational programs on topics ranging from cancer to heart disease and nutrition. Last year, more than 1,000 women attended Bridgeport Hospital Women’s Wellness programs.

Dedicated to coordinated, personalized care, the Norma F. Pfriem Breast Care Center has served more than 500 women since it was established in March 1999. Diagnostic and treatment services are provided at Bridgeport Hospital.

Patient support activities, including nutrition counseling, wig and prosthesis consultations, and integrated therapies such as acupuncture and massage therapy, are based at the center’s comfortably furnished satellite office, 309 Stillson Road in Fairfield. Outreach services have been provided to approximately 5,000 women.