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LAC+USC, SpiritShawl.com,
Foothill Transit and Women's Information Network Against
Breast Cancer will be presenting breast cancer patients with
special holiday gifts. On December 14, 2000 at 10:00am at
the front entrance LAC+USC Women's & Children's Hospital
1240 N. Mission Road, Los Angeles, California a press
conference will be held announcing the new
"Holiday" program for Latina and Indigent and
Underserved breast cancer patients in Los Angeles County.
LAC+USC, SpiritShawl.com,
Foothill Transit and WIN Against Breast Cancer are all
joining forces to make the holidays a little easier for 50
breast cancer patients who are receiving chemotherapy
treatments this month. Spirit Shawls, bus vouchers and a bag
of books will be donated to women in breast cancer treatment
at this medical center.
Speaking and presenting "gifts" to patients will
be theatrical actresses Ruth Livier (Showtime Networks
Television's "Resurrection Blvd.") and Kimberly
Williams (ABC-TV's "Relativity", Hallmark Hall of
Fame's "Jake's Women") Both women are committed to
encouraging Latina women to obtain routine mammography,
reminding them also that early detection is the key to
protection.
The Spirit Shawl is a comfy, cozy, fleecy wrap designed to
restore one's spirit and snuggle in during cancer
treatments, hospital visits, or at home. Designed to bring
solace and relieve stress, the luxurious Spirit Shawls are
embroidered with an inspirational message and blessed for
well being. Developed by hospice volunteer Susan McGuire and
wardrobe stylist, Jane Doctor, Spirit Shawls began as a way
to comfort their close friends during difficult times. For
more information contact www.spiritshawl.com
or call 818-501-1223."Spirit Shawls are a compassion
statement, " says Ms. McGuire. "Through the Spirit
Shawl Holiday Donation Program we provide a way for women to
directly touch the heart of another woman by making her feel
special."
Foothill Transit has recently joined forces with WIN Against
Breast Cancer to increase breast cancer awareness through
their interior bus billboards education and outreach program
launching January 2001. In addition, they are also providing
transportation vouchers, a lifeline for underserved and
indigent patients, to assist those who must travel daily and
weekly to receive their breast cancer treatment. More about
Foothill Transit is available on www.foothilltransit.org.
"One of Foothill's most important goals is to serve our
community, and we are proud to partner with WIN ABC and
LAC+USC in the education of the fight against breast
cancer," says Julie M. Austin, Executive Director,
Foothill Transit.
Women's Information Network Against Breast Cancer (WIN ABC)
is a Los Angeles County based national nonprofit
organization. WIN Against Breast Cancer has been a stalwart
in the breast cancer community and in patient advocacy
throughout the United States. WIN ABC was founded in 1994 by
Elizabeth Mullen, President/CEO when she was diagnosed with
breast cancer at the age of 33. WIN ABC currently assists
the public through the Breast Aid® Education and Outreach
and Breast Buddy® Breast Care Programs by providing
individualized support and disseminating culturally
appropriate, relevant information to newly diagnosed
patients their families and the public. Their extensive web
site, www.winabc.org,
offers extensive information including questions to ask the
doctor and specific breast cancer related material. Many of
the educational materials provided to the public free of
charge, are available in both in English and Spanish.
"The holidays can be a difficult time for breast cancer
patients. We hope that these "gifts" will provide
them with encouragement, support and knowing that there are
many resources available in their community." Says Ms.
Mullen of WIN Against Breast Cancer.
The Los Angles County -University of Southern California
Healthcare Network, a Level 1 trauma center and the largest
teaching hospital in the nation, is the primary teaching
hospital of the Keck School of Medicine (formerly USC School
of Medicine). It is the largest community provider of
healthcare in the community and known as the
"flagship" of the six hospitals in the health care
system operated by the Department of Health Services. It
services many indigent and underserved patients within its
vast array of emergency, inpatient and outpatient services.
Within those services it sees approximately 3,300 women for
possible breast cancer at it's Women's and Children's
Hospital. "Our patients are provided the very best of
medical care within the Los Angles County Health Care
System," stated Adelaide De La Cerda, Public
Information Officer for the LAC & USC Medical Healthcare
Network.
LAC+USC Medical Center and WIN Against Breast Cancer assist
many indigent and underserved patients with breast cancer
throughout each year. These patients are provided
state-of-the-art care within the Los Angeles County Health
Care System.
Breast cancer is a disease that knows no ethnic,
socioeconomic, age, gender or cultural boundaries. Surviving
breast cancer, however, is a more uneven experience. Among
the estimated 4,650 people who die from breast cancer in
California alone annually, a disproportionate number are
indigent and underserved, older women with inadequate or no
medical insurance. African American and Latina women are
over-represented in this group (American Cancer Society,
1999).
Media Contact: Adelaide De La Cerda- LAC+USC Medical Center
323-226-6899 or for more information, call Renee Gaines
626-332-2255 or email mail@winabc.org
or visit the WIN ABC website www.winabc.org.
Last Updated: 06/01/2004
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