Buy a Diamond this Saturday

Black Starr & Frost is supporting Komen with all sales on Saturday.

Diamonds are tough. They last forever, which is one reason they are used to symbolize lasting love. Diamonds – if purchased this Saturday at Black Starr & Frost – also help local women live longer. Black Starr & Frost is donating 10% of all purchases on Saturday, December 19, to the Orange County Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Those funds will help fight breast cancer and could save a woman’s life with education, screening or treatment.

The jeweler is located at South Coast Plaza (2^nd level, between Macy’s and Nordstrom) and has a wide selection of diamonds and fine jewelry.  Trust us, diamonds make a great gift! The store has a customer-friendly staff and you can read ahead of time about diamonds, other gems and their services at  www.blackstarrfrost.com.

If you are purchasing some beautiful bling (for yourself or someone else) in the next few days, do something good for Komen while you’re at it – December 19 at Black Starr & Frost.

Does every woman still count?

Today, we are seeing some of the first effects of the new breast cancer screening guidelines recently released by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Every Woman Counts, a joint program by the state Department of Public Health and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, provides mammograms for low-income women who are either uninsured or underinsured, but do not qualify for Medicaid.

However, citing budgetary concerns, the state announced it was not accepting new patients until next Fiscal Year, which begins on July 1. It also announced that once they do begin screening new patients again, only women age 50 and above will be eligible. Considering that one-fourth to one-third of the 270,000 women who are typically screened by the program are in their 40s, limiting it to women 50 and above amounts to a rather significant reduction.

Today, Assemblymembers Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara), Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, health organizations, breast cancer survivors and advocates held a press conference to express their outrage at the California Department of Public Health’s new directive to shut the doors for breast cancer screening services for 1.2 million low-income and uninsured.

“This is a certain death sentence for many women. I find it unconscionable that state officials would arbitrarily prevent access to women under the age of 50 and cease enrolling those who are eligible. Statistics show that early screening and detection for all women saves lives and money,” said Assemblymember Pedro Nava, author of AB 359 signed by the Governor earlier this year which increased access to digital mammography for women in California under the Every Women Counts program.

What are your thoughts on the Every Woman Counts program being cut from the state budget? If you’re as passionate about this issue as we are, please visit the Komen Advocacy Alliance online to learn ways on how you can make an impact and vote for the cure.

Thank You to the 2009 Race Teams

Beverly Dalton and part of the USPS team

The Team Captains for the Orange County Race for the Cure rock! There is no other way to describe them. They get results . . . teams with lots of people, teams that raise money to fight breast cancer, teams that may be small but are mighty with spirit. Team members account for about half of the participants at Race for the Cure in September each year. They account for immeasurable enthusiasm; displaying Komen pride and corporate pride with rallies, team t-shirts, creative fund raising and fun costumes on the Race course.

The overall largest team for 2009 was from the United States Postal Service. Yes, they deliver for Komen – a team with 976 members! Long-time team captain for the post office is Beverly Dalton. Thanks to Beverly and every member of the team.

The team that raised the most money overall was Team PIMCO, with an amazing total of $71,946.56. Thank you! That money will make a huge difference to women in Orange County, helping to fund breast health education, screening and treatment.

The very results-oriented Team PIMCO

Komen OC Community Forum

Join us on December 16 from 12:00-1:30 p.m. as we address the recent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force report about mammography and hear from everyone involved in the Orange County breast cancer movement!

Our panel will include:
Dr. Lisa Guerra, MD, Hoag Hospital

Dr. Peter Scheid, Director of Medical Management, CalOptima

Sandra Rose, Director of Community Relations, CalOptima

Rhonda Folsom, MPH, CHES, Program Supervisor, Orange County   Cancer Detection Partnership, County of Orange Health Care Agency

Joanna L. Fawzy Morales, Esq. Director, Cancer Legal Resource Center Adjunct Professor of Law, Loyola Law School Disability Rights Legal Center

Chris Tannous, PhD, President Komen OC Board

Lisa Wolter, Executive Director, Komen OC

Participants are encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch to this meeting. Komen for the Cure will provide water, coffee and soft drinks.

Location: The Orange County Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® 3191-A Airport Loop Drive Costa Mesa, CA  92626

Space is limited. Please RSVP by Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at: jcastaneda@komenoc.org

Komen OC’s Grants Award Breakfast!

Komen OC is awarding more than $900,000 in grants this Friday at our annual Community Grants Award Breakfast.
The community groups receiving the grants serve a diversity of key populations in the area, and will use the grants specifically to implement breast health programs and initiatives to promote early detection of breast cancer and provide access to care throughout Orange County in an effort to save women’s lives.

By implementing an extensive range of breast health initiatives, Komen grantees take proactive steps in ensuring that all women and men have access to life-saving breast health care. Last year alone, more than 8,500 uninsured and underserved women were provided assistance in obtaining free mammograms.

The 2009 community grants recipients and their breast health programs are:
· AltaMed Health Services Corporation / Breast Cancer Early Detection and Care Program
· Asian American Senior Citizens Service Center / Strengthening the Ties: A Multi-dimensional Approach to Raising Breast Health Awareness among Chinese American Women
· Breast Cancer Solutions / Medical Financial Aid; Temporary Financial Aid Program
· Kommah Seray Inflammatory Breast Cancer Foundation / Taking Care of Ourselves and Each Other
· Laguna Beach Community Clinic / Breast Care Advocacy
· Latino Center for Prevention and Action in Health and Welfare / Salud de Seno Breast Health Program
· Nhan Hoa Comprehensive Health Care Clinic / Breast Care for Low-Income and Uninsured Young People
· Orange County Korean American Health Information and Education Center / Pink Ribbon Awareness
· Orange County Rescue Mission Healthcare Services / ACT (Access to Care & Treatment) Now Project
· Planned Parenthood Orange and San Bernardino Counties / Breast Health Program
· Share Our Selves (SOS) / SOS Women’s Initiative
· The G.R.E.E.N. Foundation / Be Self Empowered (BSE)
· Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation / Breast Health Navigation and Education Program
· YWCA of North Orange County / Early Breast Cancer Screening and Education