HOSPITAL HELPERColleen Zenk Pinter (Barbara; ATWT) was recently the guest speaker at a dinner hosted by Yale-New Haven Hospital to celebrate construction progress of the new Smilow Cancer Hospital.
Zenk Pinter is an oral cancer survivor and spoke about her personal experience and the expert care she received at YNHH.
She is pictured here with one of her treating physicians, Yung Son, MD, a radiation oncologist who also spoke at the event.
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Colleen has become a powerful voice for early detection of oral cancers, when survival is most likely. Her public service announcements on radio and TV have significantly helped alert the American Public to the dangers of this disease. Her efforts with the non profit Oral Cancer Foundation to raise public awareness also deserve recognition.
It should be mentioned that PGP and CBS deserve kudos as well. The producer of As the World Turns was receptive to a significant story line change in the show where her character develops oral cancer, a story element that not only brings good drama to the show, but fulfills a much greater purpose. Millions of Americans who are unaware of the disease will learn about it. The accurate descriptions of it will alert them to the lifestyle issues that can bring oral cancer into their lives. Public awareness is a huge component of bringing the death rate from this disease down.
CBS, through CBS Cares has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars of airtime minutes to play Colleen's Public Service Announcements on the need for annual screenings, ensuring that her voice for change will be heard.
I think that Procter and Gamble Productions (and the management of ATWT specifically) and CBS exhibit the best in what corporations with a social conscience can be. Combined with Ms. Pinter's passion for seeing that others are not blind sided by a disease that significantly impacted her life, these actions reflect some of the best use of their dollars and her celebrity. What kind of a world would it be if the positive efforts of these three were examples of the norm, rather than the extraordinary altruism that is exhibited here?
Thank you to to all.
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