Beaufort Memorial Foundation thanks Dataw Island Women’s Golf Association for support of cancer services
From staff reports
Special to The Island News
The Beaufort Memorial Foundation honored the Dataw Island Women’s Golf Association on Thursday evening, July 10 for their generosity over the years, supporting oncology services at Beaufort Memorial and helping build a “village” for patients on their cancer journey.
Each year, the Dataw Island Women’s Golf Association hosts its “Community for a Cure” fundraiser, contributing more than $150,000 to the Beaufort Memorial Foundation to support services for patients on their cancer journey at the community hospital.
The annual fundraiser is a volunteer-driven event that began in 2002, involving hundreds of Dataw Island residents committed to supporting the Foundation and the Beaufort Memorial Keyserling Cancer Center.
“We wanted to make sure you knew the magnitude of support this event provides to our cancer community,” Beaufort Memorial Foundation Chief Development Officer Kim Yawn said. “You put in hard work every year, you make it fun and exciting and new, and we are so grateful to you and the Dataw Communtity.”
Members of the Golf Association mixed and mingled at the Keyserling Cancer Center in Beaufort on Thursday, touring the facility’s infusion center and hearing a little more about the services offered at Beaufort Memorial for those undergoing cancer treatment.
Two years ago, the Foundation provided the infusion center with specialized chairs designed for both comfort and safety. Equipped with heating and massage features, these chairs can also recline fully to allow for CPR if a patient experiences a medical emergency during treatment.
The Foundation has also been able to purchase two transport vans that support patients who travel from sometimes over an hour away to the Beaufort facility to receive their treatment. These transport vans are “a huge asset for us,” said infusion center nursing director Michelle Talley, RN.
During the tour of the center, Talley explained to the group that the infusion center sees patients with cancers ranging from breast to colon to prostate to hematology patients, offering iron deficiency treatments to patients referred from departments like obstetrics, primary care and gastroenterology.
The center sees between 30 and 50 patients each day, Talley said, and is equipped with 14 infusion chairs and a private treatment room. During their visits, patients are offered warm blankets, snacks, coffee, and tea, while dedicated volunteers go above and beyond to ensure they feel as comfortable as possible.
Following the infusion center tour Thursday evening, oncology social worker Kianna Brown, LMSW, went into a little more detail for the group about the true impact of their generosity.
Every patient has a “village,” Brown said, and as an oncology social worker, she, along with cancer nurse navigators, financial navigators and other members of a patient’s care team make up that village.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to let people know that their biggest stress should just be their cancer journey. We should be able to take care of the rest,” Brown said, telling a story about a patient who, with the help of the Foundation and the village of support at Beaufort Memorial and beyond, was able to access resources during their treatment journey that helped them with transportation, rent and their electric bills.
“You have given our patients an experience where they feel like this is a family, and they’re not just a number,” Brown said. “It’s about what we can do for them as a village. You’re helping to take that stress away and show them that there’s a whole world out there rooting for them.”
A placard honoring the Dataw Island Women’s Golf Association was placed in the infusion center as a heartfelt reminder to patients that they are not alone—that a community stands behind them, offering support and encouragement throughout their treatment journey.
