Button Chair exhibit starts with The Big Reveal

Harnett County, N.C. (October 7, 2013) – Harnett Health is bringing the Button Chair to Central Harnett Hospital in Lillington as part of several breast cancer awareness efforts during the month of October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“The Button Chair represents real women in North Carolina who have battled breast cancer,” said Dr. David Allison, Medical Director, Medical Imaging, Harnett Health. “Every button has a story, and every button came from a survivor or the family of a loved one who had breast cancer. It is a very powerful tribute to the thousands of North Carolinians impacted by this disease.”

The Button Chair was created in 1998 by a college student as a tribute to women in North Carolina who have battled breast cancer and for their families, friends and support networks who have supported them through their fight. The chair is now part of a traveling interactive exhibit provided courtesy of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation.

Each button on the Button Chair represents a unique story of courage and strength as the buttons were donated by breast cancer survivors and by loved ones in memory of those who lost their battle with the disease. Notable buttons include a button from the Olympic jacket of North Carolina State University’s former women’s basketball coach Kay Yow and a gold button from a World War II uniform.

The purpose of the exhibit is to educate viewers about breast cancer, to encourage women to get mammograms and to deliver messages of hope from survivors who have overcome the disease. The display is a dynamic, interactive experience highlighted by the glass enclosed Button Chair and four hands-on, educational kiosks. Two of the exhibit’s kiosks contain touch-screen monitors with programming featuring breast cancer facts, resources and information concerning mammograms.

The exhibit’s featured elements are video stories of hope, as five North Carolina women (representing Asheville, Durham, Greensboro, Raleigh and Wilson) share their stories of detection, treatment and survival. These uplifting accounts reveal how the disease has touched each woman’s life, and the lives of their families. One of the stories is told in the survivor’s native Spanish and all information featured on the touch-screens is available in both English and Spanish.

The exhibit’s other two kiosks include information on mammograms and breast exams and details about the Button Chair, including stories behind specific buttons. Beads depicting lump sizes detectable by self-exam as well as those detected through mammography are featured. Also included is a mammogram X-ray providing visitors the opportunity to view a cancerous mass. 

The exhibit will be on display in the Diagnostic Testing waiting area at Central Harnett Hospital in Lillington from Tuesday, October 15 through Thursday, October 24. The public is invited and encouraged to visit Central Harnett Hospital in Lillington to view the exhibit.

The Big Reveal

Harnett Health will host a Button Chair unveiling celebration called The Big Reveal on Tuesday, October 15 at 8 a.m. in the Diagnostic Testing waiting area at Central Harnett Hospital in Lillington. There will be a short program, a prize drawing for attendees, pink refreshments, and an opportunity to add the name of a loved one impacted by breast cancer to our memorial signature mat which will be displayed  at Central Harnett Hospital and at our Breast Care Center in Dunn. The community is invited to attend The Big Reveal.