If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call 988 for 24/7 free and confidential crisis support. You do not have to be suicidal to call. Access more info and resources on suicide prevention, emotional and mental health support.
Search by keyword or browse our list of services.
Find a provider by specialty, location, or availability.
Available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
See current studies testing new drugs, devices, and equipment to find better ways to treat and help patients.
For life-threatening emergencies, call 911 without delay.
Search by specialty and location.
Receive the highest level of care from the region's leading providers.
Find a lab or imaging facility close to you.
Search for a retail pharmacy in your area.
Find an outpatient infusion center.
Visit us to pay bills, ask billing questions, or request billing records.
Breast, colon and ovarian cancer all run in Joyce Blackmon’s family.
Blackmon, 73, recently finished treatment for colon cancer – this after beating breast cancer in 2013. October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, marks six years since she finished her treatment for breast cancer.
“It scared me, but I said, ‘I can beat it,’ and I have,” Blackmon said.
Blackmon is a believer in self-exams. Once a month, she checked for anything unusual.
In 2013, she found a lump.
“My lump showed up really fast,” Blackmon said. “There was nothing there and the next month, it was pretty big. So it does grow fast.”
It quickly was confirmed: breast cancer. Her doctor recommended chemotherapy and radiation.
Blackmon declined chemotherapy but completed radiation therapy.
“At the time, I could not do chemo because it scared me because my mother – we lost her,” Blackmon said. “She had colon cancer, which is the one that I just finished chemo for.”
While Blackmon is watchful, she is also grateful – to be a cancer survivor. She said it’s helpful to meet other cancer patients and become friends with them.
“We get to talking and helping each other out,” she said. “They say, ‘I’m having this problem,’ and I say, ‘I get that, too.’
“It’s good to talk to people who have the same cancers as you.”
Her advice: Be alert.
“If you are worried that you have a lump, don’t panic,” she said. “I have had friends with a lump, and it wasn’t cancerous.
“If you are worried, get in, the sooner the better.”
Every year, Blackmon participates in Tough Enough to Wear Pink night at the Twin Falls County Fair and Rodeo. This year was no exception. The event, which took place in August, honors local cancer survivors, bringing them into the arena on a horse-drawn carriage. For the fourth year, St. Luke’s Magic Valley helped to sponsor the event.
Tough Enough to Wear Pink, which features the signature color of the breast cancer movement, got its start by providing mammograms for people with little or no insurance. Giving has since expanded to include breast cancer diagnostic examination, the next step if a mammogram reveals anything suspicious.
The organization also contributes to the St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute emergency breast cancer fund, which helps people with breast cancer pay for expenses incurred during treatment.
Some patients, like Blackmon, also receive financial support from other sources like St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI)’s cancer patient emergency fund. The fund helps patients with medications, hotel lodging, housing costs, utilities, medical devices, transportation costs, groceries and gas cards.
Twin Falls Tough Enough to Wear Pink
https://www.tftetwp.org
Breast cancer awareness resources
https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/resources/features/breastcancerawareness/index.htm
If you would like more information or to donate, contact the Foundation at 208-814-0070 or email slmvhealthfoundation@slhs.org.
Michelle Bartlome is the public relations manager at St. Luke's Magic Valley.
You take care of others, so take care of yourself. Let us be your partner in health, whether you're recovering from an injury, checking in for your annual exam, or enjoying an online class.
Because when you take care of yourself, everyone around you benefits.