During October, Florida Hospital Center Ice is proud to participate in National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the second most common kind of cancer in women. About one in eight women born today in the United States will get breast cancer at some point. The good news is that many women can survive breast cancer if it’s found and treated early.

If you are a woman age 40 to 49, talk with your doctor about when to start getting mammograms and how often to get them.

If you are a woman age 50 to 74, be sure to get a mammogram every 2 years. You may also choose to get them more often.

Talk to your physician about your risk for breast cancer, especially if a close family member of yours has had breast or ovarian cancer. Your doctor can help you decide when and how often to get mammograms.

As a literal sign of support for breast cancer awareness, Florida Hospital Center Ice’s new monument sign will be displayed in pink during the entire month of October.

“We are pleased to help observe this important disease awareness activity,” said Gordie Zimmermann, managing partner of Florida Hospital Center Ice. “As Florida Hospital is our complex’ naming sponsor, it is certainly appropriate for us to participate in this annual, month-long observance.

In collaboration with its ongoing support of cancer awareness, Florida Hospital Center Ice has partnered with Skate for Hope, a premier figure skating event and a not-for-profit organization dedicated to cancer research, awareness, and health education programs, for a fundraising event on Saturday, June 17, 2017, at the new ice sports facility in Wesley Chapel.

Skate for Hope was founded in 2004 by life-long figure skater, and breast cancer survivor Carolyn Bongirno. At 33-years old, Bongirno battled and overcame a stage-three breast cancer diagnosis, and subsequently created Skate for Hope to help empower children and young adults to better cope with a friend or family member’s cancer diagnosis by utilizing their time and talents to honor and support others. Skate for Hope also focuses on providing health and wellness education to youth to instill the importance of practicing healthy lifestyle habits that reduce the risk of developing cancer.

Headlined by U.S. Olympians and U.S. national champions, Skate for Hope attracts many of the world’s top figure skaters, as well as more than 100 amateur skaters from the Tampa area.

To date, Skate for Hope has raised $575,000 for advanced clinical cancer research.

For more information about breast cancer prevention and treatment, visit the American Cancer Society at http://www.cancer.org/. For information about Skate for Hope, visit www.skateforhope.org beginning in January, 2017.

About Florida Hospital Center Ice

Florida Hospital Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, FL is the largest ice sports facility in the southeastern U.S. with 150,500 square feet consisting of four ice rinks plus a mini rink. A $28 million capital investment project developed by ZMitch, LLC, Florida Hospital is the facility’s major sponsor and naming partner. The Tampa Bay Lightning is a program rink partner. It will officially open in January 2017.