Wayne County Sheriff's Department and Waynesboro Police Department Raise Awareness about Breast

WAYNESBORO, MISS. – Two local women are on a mission to “stomp out” breast cancer, and they are using law enforcement as a way to promote awareness.

“The policeman got out of the car, and he had on a pink badge,” breast cancer survivor and former Wayne County Breast Cancer Awareness Chairman, Becky Rhinehart explained. “He had a pink thing around his gun, as well as his pink handcuffs. We had to ask, him why he was doing that? To which he told us it was because of breast cancer awareness month.” Rhinehart describes an encounter she had with a police officer in Haymarket, Va. “I decided that we needed to do that in Wayne County, in Waynesboro” Rhinehart stated. Wayne County Sheriff Jody Ashley and Waynesboro Police Chief Holt Ross embraced the idea. “The whole month of October this department will turn pink,” Sheriff Ashley said. “We're bringing awareness to breast cancer.” “We are glad to support breast cancer awareness month,” Chief Ross stated. “We are wearing our pink badges. We have our pink handcuffs, so everybody who sees that will be made more aware of what we are wearing, and what it's all about.” A gesture Rhinehart and Kristi Grimes (a breast cancer survivor) both appreciate. “Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women, so it is just very important for everybody, do yourself checks do you MRI's,” Grimes explained. “Do whatever the doctor recommends. You got to take care of yourself.” Rhinehart and Grimes donated a large number of items to the City of Waynesboro to help raise awareness about breast cancer. Both Rhinehart and Grimes hope this month’s awareness campaign gets more women to go to the doctor for a checkup. According to the U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics, “In 2018, an estimated 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 63,960 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.”