Wednesday, October 21, 1998BY SUE MacDONALD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
They walk with their co-workers, sisters, mothers, daughters and wives who have breast cancer.
They walk in memory of friends and loved ones who have died from it. About 4,000 people are expected to participate in Sunday's"Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" 5-mile walk to raise money for American Cancer Society screening and education programs in the Tristate.
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IF YOU GO
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What: Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, a 5-mile family walk sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
When:Registration begins 9 a.m. Sunday; walk begins at 10 a.m.
Where: Starts at Bicentennial Commons, downtown. Participants recruit pledge sponsors for the fund-raiser. This year's goal: 4,000 walkers and $400,000.
Information: 891-1600.
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That's double the 2,000 walkers who participated in the inaugural 1997 walk, says Pat Koepnick, spokeswoman for the Cincinnati chapter of the American Cancer Society.
"We're counting on good weather this year, and the goal is to have 4,000 walkers and raise $400,000," she says.
The 1997 event raised $150,000, which helped pay for mammograms for 500 uninsured women, the Northern Kentucky Teacher Mammography program and a newly created position of coordinator for breast education, screening and treatment.
This year, ACS hopes to double the number of mammograms offered to women who can't afford them.
ACS also will have a Survivor's Wreath available at the walk. Participants can pin onto the wreath a pink ribbon -- symbol of the fight against breast cancer -- in honor of a family member or friend who has breast cancer or in memory of someone who has died.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and two other local programs target breast cancer:
- The University of Cincinnati Medical Center is offering free screening tests for breast and cervical cancer to women who have limited incomes and are uninsured or underinsured. The program is co-sponsored with the Health Alliance, Ohio Department of Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Women 40-49 are eligible for Pap tests and pelvic exams, and women over 50 are eligible for breast exams and mammograms. For information, call 584-4342 from Hamilton County or (888) 727-6266 from elsewhere in Ohio.
- Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield is mailing reminders to nearly 25,000 Tristate women who are overdue for mammograms. The card urges them to schedule a mammogram at the Mammography Center at McAlpin's department store in Kenwood Towne Centre, co-sponsored by Anthem. Women who get a mammogram and return a card to Anthem receive a free foot-care product gift set.
Anthem also is sending to about 4,000 primary-care doctors a list of their Anthem patients who are overdue for a screening mammogram. Studies show that women do not undergo routine mammograms because they don't know what the guidelines are for scheduling them and because their doctors do not tell them when it's time for a mammogram.
National programs include:
- Estee Lauder expects to give away 1.5 million pink ribbon pins at its cosmetics counters this month. Also available are bookmarks listing hot lines and Web sites for the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute and other organizations that provide education and information. And as it has done for the past few years, Estee Lauder is raising money for breast cancer research with two new products: a compact filled with Lucidity power, $35, and a lipstick case, $10 with any lipstick purchase, each with the pink ribbon motif in porcelain.
- Avon has added a cosmetics case to its line of Pink Ribbon products, which, since 1993, has raised more than $25 million for breast health programs across the United States. The case is $3. To order, call (800) 367-2866.
- Swarovski, the jewelry company, has pledged a minimum of $25,000 from sales of its Compassion Pin to the American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Network. The $150 pin is set with brilliant crystals and plated with gold and rhodium. It's available through December at major department stores.
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