Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

To Date:  Portland, OR "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer"  has received $1790 from Global Giving Donors.

Since 1993, nearly 6 million walkers across the country have raised more than $400 million through Making Strides events to help fight breast cancer. The American Cancer Society saves lives and creates a world with less breast cancer and more birthdays - where this disease never steals another year from anyone’s life.

With your support, we are saving lives by:

Helping People Stay Well
We know that detecting breast cancer early, at its most treatable stage, can mean the difference between life and death. So we provide screening guidelines, physician education, and engage in efforts to increase public awareness about the importance of yearly mammograms. The good news is that breast cancer incidence and death rates are declining; more people are beating this disease thanks to early detection through mammograms and improved treatment methods. We know that knowledge is power, and we won’t stop until every woman understands how she can help take control of her breast health.

Helping People Get Well
Having cancer is hard. Finding help shouldn’t be. That’s why the American Cancer Society is in everyone’s corner around the clock to guide them through every step of a breast cancer experience. The Society offers free programs and services in nearly every community across the country to ensure that cancer patients and their loved ones do not have to face cancer alone.

Below are some of the support services we provide.

• Transportation assistance to and from treatment
• Free lodging for those having to travel far for treatment
• Free wigs and assistance with treatment-related physical side effects
• Emotional support programs that connect newly diagnosed breast cancer patients with survivors
• Cancer education classes
• An online support network

We are committed to connecting people facing cancer with the information, day-to-day help, and emotional support they need in their communities where they live to help them get well. Call us at 1-800-227-2345 anytime, day or night, or visit us at www.cancer.org to find out what resources are available in your community.

Finding Cures
The American Cancer Society invests more in breast cancer research to better understand, prevent, and cure the disease than in any other solid tumor site. We take pride in funding promising researchers early in their careers, and our track record is something we share with pride. Of the researchers chosen for Society funding throughout the years, 44 have gone on to win the Nobel Prize. Your support has allowed the American Cancer Society to be involved in nearly every major breast cancer research breakthrough of the last century, including:

• Funding research into breast-conserving surgery, using lumpectomy plus radiation for treatment
• Establishing mammography as the gold standard to find breast cancer early
• Discovering lifesaving treatments (such as Herceptin) to improve breast cancer survival and drugs (such as Tamoxifen) to reduce the risk of second or first breast cancer
• Discovering genes for inherited breast and colon cancer
• Confirming the knowledge that genetics, diet, lack of exercise, and alcohol abuse can increase a person's cancer risk
• Discovering cancer-causing oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes

Currently, breast cancer research projects are under way at institutions across the country, thanks in large part to the funds raised by Making Strides Against Breast Cancer participants. With your continued help, we can fund more critical research projects, one of which could result in a breakthrough that would lead to fewer diagnoses and lower the number of deaths from breast cancer each year.

Fighting Back
Right now, cancer can't be defeated in doctors' offices alone. We work with legislators to pass laws to defeat breast cancer and rally communities to join the fight. We need elected officials to fully fund programs that allow all eligible women to get the cancer screenings they need and treatment they deserve. The American Cancer Society, in collaboration with its nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), works hard to keep breast cancer funding a top priority for our nation’s lawmakers. Thanks in large part to donations from the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer events, our advocacy efforts are affecting many of the laws that govern what options are available for people battling cancer.

We have successfully lobbied Congress for millions of dollars for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which helps low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women get access to critical screenings and follow-up treatment. We are currently working to increase funding for the program so it can serve more eligible women.

We actively support legislation that would increase access to treatment for breast cancer patients and the quality of life for breast cancer survivors.

We are addressing disparities by promoting important public policies that provide access to quality health care and screening for all women.

We are committed to connecting people facing cancer with the information, day-to-day help, and emotional support they need in the communities where they live to help them get well through every step of their cancer journey and to beat the disease.

But there is more work to be done. Walk with us - and help create a world with less breast cancer and more birthdays. For more information about how you can use your voice to help fight breast cancer, call us at 1-800-227-2345 or visit ACS CAN at www.acscan.org/makingstrides.

Thanks again for your continued support.

Your American Cancer Society, "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer"
The Great West Division, Inc., Portland, Oregon