This week, Obici Hospital is continuing its recognition of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a community forum on the disease.

The forum, &uot;Breast Cancer: Fears, Facts and Fiction,&uot; is being held from 6:30-8 p.m. Wednesday in the hospital’s garden level conference rooms B and C.

The forum will feature:

n Information on Obici Hospital’s new state-of-the-art breast diagnostic services, including digital mammography and R2 image checker;

n Presentation on &uot;Breast Cancer Treatment Options,&uot; by Judy Blevins, a physician with Oncology Associates of Virginia.

n Presentation on &uot;Breast Reconstructive Surgery,&uot; by Helena Guarda, a physician with Plastic Surgery Associates of Tidewater;

n Information on Obici Hospital’s new Breast Health Center by Barbara Gardella, center coordinator and certified breast health educator.

The audience will be able to ask questions after the program. Tours of the hospital’s digital mammography and radiation oncology centers will be available.

People planning to attend should make reservations by calling 934-4999.

Also, the Obici Foundation for Community Health Improvement will offer free breast exams to the public at the hospital from 4-5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The free health screenings will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis. Registration will be held and exams performed in the Obici Mammography Center on the hospital’s first floor. All exams will be performed by a physician or breast specialist nurse, and breast health education will be provided.

For further information on the breast exams, call 934-4720.