Corks & Crush helps fund the future of breast cancer care
At a glance
- Corks & Crush celebrates community‑driven support improving health care in East Pierce County
- 2025 fundraising enabled a new breast clinic offering advanced, patient‑centered surgical and diagnostic services
- Donor generosity continues to expand local cancer care, strengthening hope and support for the community
On Saturday, May 16, 2026, Corks & Crush, MultiCare Good Samaritan Foundation’s annual fundraising gala, will celebrate 20 years of supporting a healthier East Pierce County.
Over the past two decades, guests and sponsors have championed causes that strengthen health care at MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital, from emergency care and cardiology to children’s therapy and more.
In 2025, the event helped raise over $1 million to expand local cancer care through MultiCare Cancer Institute – Puyallup, and those funds are already making an impact.
Coming soon
This summer, a breast clinic will open at Good Samaritan across the street from the Dr. Richard C. Ostenson Cancer Resource Center. Funded in part by last year’s Corks & Crush proceeds, the standalone space represents a major medical step forward.
“The opportunity to partner with Good Samaritan Hospital, the Foundation and the broader East Pierce community to launch a breast cancer-focused clinic, with a surgical focus, has been a dream for a decade,” shares Yarrow McConnell, MD, interim chief medical officer and breast oncology medical leader at MultiCare Cancer Institute. “It’s something that really defines a community.”
Together, Dr. McConnell and surgical oncologist Elaine Jayne Buckley, MD, will provide extensive services, including:
- Breast cancer surgeries: lumpectomy, mastectomy and lymph node procedures
- Oncoplastic surgery
- Skin- and nipple-sparing mastectomy with reconstruction
- Prophylactic (preventive) mastectomy for high-risk patients
- Flat aesthetic closure after mastectomy
- Surgery for benign breast conditions
Patients will also be able to schedule appointments for risk assessments, genetic testing, screening recommendations and discussions with the plastic surgery team around potential breast reconstruction as part of their treatment plan.
“I’m just so excited that we have the resources, the space and the right team to do the work that’s going to be located right here in the core of Puyallup,” Dr. McConnell says. “We really need these local services that serve the population and people here.”
A patient-centered experience
The new clinic will be designed to ease anxiety from the moment someone walks in, especially since many patients seeking specialty breast care don’t have cancer but still carry a great deal of worry. By separating the clinic from the existing cancer resource center — yet still having it close enough to allow for seamless coordination, if needed — the team aims to create a calmer, more reassuring experience.
Knowing that many traditional medical environments can often feel cold and unwelcoming, particularly for women, Dr. McConnell further stresses the importance of every detail bringing comfort and warmth.
“We want to create a space where they feel much more comfortable being vulnerable and seeking care for these important issues,” she explains.
This approach reflects a broader vision for the future of cancer care — one centered on hope rather than fear.
“I want [patients] to be able to go to a place that’s not about tough treatments and dark days but that’s about the future,” Dr. McConnell shares. “So, what do we need to bring into our cancer treatment environment now to maintain and grow that hope for the future? That’s what we need to be focusing on.”
Carrying on a generous legacy
Thanks to Corks & Crush donors, the breast clinic will be rooted in community generosity.
“I don’t think there’s enough words to express my level of gratitude,” Dr. McConnell reflects. “It’s overwhelming, to say the least, when I think about … the hundreds of patients I see every year that these services are for.”
On May 16, hundreds of guests will gather at the bedazzled Washington State Fair Event Center for a special 20th anniversary gala, ready to support lifesaving cancer care at their local hospital. As an East Pierce resident herself, Dr. McConnell takes pride in the way her neighbors continually show up for one another.
“Every little bit of this community acting together to help us build this program is a groundswell of support that I’m not surprised at, because I know this community,” she says. “This is a community that pulls together and does incredible things.”
Join us May 16 for Corks & Crush
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