Miss Mississippi Emmie Perkins, of Hattiesburg, visited the Forrest General Cancer Center on Tuesday, December 20. Back in town after her quest for the Miss America crown last week at the Mohegan Sun Resort in Connecticut, Perkins visited with Cancer Center patients, doctors, and staff members.
Perkins’ social impact initiative, Music is Medicine, brings musical performances into healthcare facilities and nursing homes throughout Mississippi. At last week’s pageant, she won the overall Jean Bartel Social Impact Initiative award. Perkins made history with this win as the first Miss Mississippi contestant to ever bring home the prestigious award.
During her visit, Perkins greeted and took photos with patients in the lobby before meeting with radiation oncology medical physicist, Zach Christ, PSM, to learn about stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treatments administered through three linear accelerators. SRS uses precisely-focused radiation beams to treat tumors and other problems in the brain, neck, lungs, liver, spine, and other parts of the body.
Miss Mississippi, Emmie Perkins, poses with Shannon Vega, director of Radiology, left, and Millie Swan, vice president.
Clinical Trials Coordinator, Chris Sentell, spoke about the center’s Clinical Trials Program. This was of particular interest as during November the Forrest General Cancer Center became the first site in the world to enroll a patient in a new multiple myeloma study.
“I’ve learned about the groundbreaking technology that is happening right here in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, at the Forrest General Cancer Center for cancer treatment,” Perkins said of her visit. “It’s also close to my heart because my grandfather passed away from multiple myeloma, so it’s very eye opening to see people going through that and bring a little light to their situation. They are the real heroes and warriors in the world we live in today. So, it’s an honor to be here with everybody.”
“Now that I’ve toured the facility and seen the type of patients in this facility, I feel they could greatly benefit from my (Music is Medicine platform) music therapy while getting treatment,” Perkins said. “I know that funds aren’t always available to make it a permanent solution, but having music therapy brought to you even just a couple of times as a patient can completely change your outlook and lighten your mood. I hope this is a partnership where we can plan an event in the future here between Miss Mississippi, Music is Medicine, and Forrest General Hospital.”
Perkins served as Miss Mississippi State University before being crowned Miss Mississippi. A Hattiesburg native, Perkins got a relatively late start in the pageant world. She did not start competing until she was in college and learned about the scholarship opportunities associated with the competitions. She brought home $13,000 in scholarship money from the Miss America Pageant.
A native of Hattiesburg, Perkins is a mentor for ACCESS, a Road Runner, a member of Kappa Delta Sorority, Concert Choir Schola Cantorum and PRSSA. Upon graduation, Perkins would love to work in public relations in sports, music or business. She says she does not have an exact plan because life is full of surprises.
