Watching a bizarrely colored football team, I realized October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Another public service assignment from Summer, 1995. – JDW
A promise made.
As 36-year-old Susan G. Komen lay dying of breast cancer, her sister, Nancy Brinker, promised to dedicate her life to cancer education, treatment and research. Since its inception in 1982, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has raised nearly $28 million in the fight to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease.
A promise kept.
However, the fight continues. Over 12,000 runners and walkers will gather September 24, 1995, at Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park for the fourth annual Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure. Runner’s World, the leading magazine of the sport, named Portland’s Race for the Cure one of the top twenty races in the country.
Cancer survivors, hundreds of them, will be readily identifiable by their bright pink visors. And big smiles. One of the biggest smiles belongs to Mary Peterson, wife, mother, school teacher, survivor of breast cancer and winner of Portland’s inaugural Race for the Cure in 1991, six months after being diagnosed. The prize was a trip to the national championship in Dallas, Texas. Peterson finished first again.
“I have tons of trophies,” says Peterson, a competitive runner who learned she had cancer a month before her forty-fourth birthday. “But that was the most important race of my life. I made a statement for women. The big C does not have to be a death sentence.”
Peterson underwent a lumpectomy, six and a half weeks of radiation, a half year of chemotherapy. She never missed a day of work. She kept running.
“If the Race for the Cure teaches us anything, it teaches cancer patients to stay positive, stay active,” offers Peterson.
This year, the nation’s largest 5 kilometer (3.1 miles) series will see over 230,000 women compete in an athletic competition dedicated to the memory of Komen and the notion that breast cancer is survivable. (For more information, call the Race for the Cure hotline: 503-242-1874.)
“I remember my first Race for The Cure,” recalls Margaret Warnke-Shields, today the event’s co-director. “I was simply bowled over. What a magical time. Truly a wonderful experience. The race brought me out of the closet as a breast cancer survivor. I learned it’s okay to have breast cancer and live.”
Bobbi Carr is a breast cancer survivor and the volunteer coordinator for the Payless Drug Stores Celebrity Golf Classic. “Too many times we take life for granted,” says Carr, who will be walking in the Race for the Cure. “I have three grandchildren and I want to see them grow up. I love weddings; I am going to see them walk down the aisle.”
Grandmothers and brides get breast cancer.
Every three minutes, every day, week after week, month after month, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer. Every three minutes. Mothers and wives. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women, age 35 to 54. The two most significant risk factors are being a woman and getting older. 46,000 women will die in 1995. Sisters and daughters. 46,000 women, one every eleven minutes. All women are at risk. Golfers, too.
Men are not exempt. 1400 men will develop breast cancer this year; 240 will die from it.
The majority of funds raised stays in the local community to fund educational programs and to provide mammograms to medically under-served women. The remaining dollars fund research at the national level.
There is no way to prevent breast cancer.
A few years after her sister’s death, Nancy Brinker was diagnosed with cancer. She is healthy today because she knew the value of self-examination and early detection.
Breast self-examination should occur monthly, starting at age 20. While the majority of breast lumps are found by women themselves, mammography is the best method of early detection. Regular clinical breast examinations by a health care professional are also important. Early detection is the key to survival and a greater quality of life.
“I am so emotional about this,” Peterson notes. “If you notice anything unusual in your breasts, please don’t ignore it. Men, too. Please.” Just detect it.
The Komen Foundation provides a national toll-free breast care helpline: 1-800-I’M AWARE (1-800-462-9273). Trained, caring volunteers provide timely and accurate information and moral support to callers with breast health concerns.
The Komen Foundation will be there to help. That’s a promise.
