At the El Paso Power of Pink Breast Cancer Survivor kickoff held Sept. 28 at the Las Palmas Life Care Center, Beverly Kidd, oncology nurse, and Kris Shotts, speaker at the event, discuss stories portrayed on the survivorsÕ boards that will be transported to various hospitals within the city during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Photo credit: Clarence Davis III.
El Paso celebrates Power of Pink
Thirty breast cancer survivors and supporters attended the El Paso Power of Pink Breast Cancer Survivor kickoff event Friday at Las Palmas Life Care Center.
The Power of Pink is a community project organized to celebrate the lives of El PasoÕs breast cancer survivors and to kick off October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
NBCAM is the shared effort involving local hospitals, charitable organizations, pharmaceutical companies and various foundations that offer support to all who have battled the disease.
The $7,000 cost of the Power of Pink project was funded by a Helen of Troy grant, said Debbie Pinedo, Power of Pink chairman. Western Refinery and the Rio Grande Foundation also contributed to the Power of Pink.
Located on the 10th floor, the William Beaumont Army Medical Center Green House is also funded by the Rio Grande Foundation. The Green House is a resource center with information on cancer diseases.
The project consisted of a one-day makeover for the breast cancer survivors, said Judy Tryon, a tumor registrar at WBAMC. In August, El Paso Community College cosmetology students prepared the survivors' hair and makeup for a photo opportunity. This was to show the beauty of the survivor inside and out, said Tryon. Afterward, the photos, taken by Toni Marie Studio, and a personal message were placed on a display board. During the month, the boards will be on display at Basset Place and various hospitals within the city.
The Power of Pink kickoff aims to celebrate survivorship, generate awareness and paint a positive picture to newly diagnosed patients and their family members that they can survive breast cancer. "The Power of Pink project is really about the empowerment of patients," said Col. Brad E. Waddell, surgical oncologist and chief of the Department of Surgery. ÒIt is extremely valuable for women with recently diagnosed breast cancer to talk to other women who have been affected by the disease."
Breast cancer is a survivable disease, said Waddell. One out of every eight women is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States, but only one out of every 28 diagnosed dies from the disease.
The consensus of opinion among the survivors is that it takes everyone working together to make women aware of how important it is to do a monthly breast self-examination.
"It is important that you keep a positive attitude and know that you can beat this disease," said Kris Schott, a speaker at the kickoff.
Breast cancer is the second most frequent cancer diagnosis in the United States after skin cancer, accounting for nearly one in three diagnoses. According to El Paso County statistics, there were an additional 281 cases of breast cancer diagnosed in 2006.
There were 26 cases of newly diagnosed breast cancer at WBAMC, said Pinedo. In Texas, there were an estimated 13,150 new cases of breast cancer and 2,530 deaths attributed to breast cancer. Nationally, there were more than 214,640 new cases of breast cancer in women and more than 40,000 died from the disease in 2005. More than 1,400 men were diagnosed with breast cancer, and more than 470 will die from the disease.
The Power of Pink campaign recognizes the struggle women endure when they have breast cancer. It is important that breast cancer is caught early because the survival rate is higher and there are more treatment options. Statistics indicate that when the cancer is confined to the breast, the five-year survival rate is greater than 97 percent.
"Women must remember to schedule their annual mammograms, and do the breast self-exams monthly," Pinedo said.
For information about breast cancer or other cancers, please call the WBAMC Tumor Registry at 569-1320.