BREAST CANCER AWARENESS Deborah Dashko will speak Sept. 29 at JLY's Pink Ribbon Tea

The speaker draws on personal experience and professional knowledge.
YOUNGTOWN -- Deborah M. Dashko, cancer survivor, speaker and educator, will give the keynote address during the Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Survivors Tea planned Sept. 29 at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex Centre in Liberty by the Junior League of Youngstown.
Doors open at 11 a.m., and lunch will be served at noon with the program following.
Dashko is the patient-community education coordinator with the Cancer Care Centers of Forum Health. Building on her nursing background, she has completed training and certification in oncology, prevention and detection, bereavement counseling and holistic medicine.
She has received the Outstanding Oncology Nurse Award, the J.C. Penney Golden Rule Award, the American Cancer Society Nurse of Hope Award the ant 1998 Lane W. Adams National Award for outstanding accomplishments in impacting the lives of cancer patients and their families.
The tea recognizes about 400 women who are surviving breast cancer and also launches local efforts to raise awareness of the Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio Race for the Cure event planned Oct. 11 in Cleveland.
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation works to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by advancing research, education, cancer screening and treatment. Local affiliates and Race for the Cure events nationally generate funds based on local needs.
Local participation in the race coalition over the last eight years has resulted in almost $500,000 being returned to the Mahoning County for education, screening and treatment of underserved women.
The American Cancer Society reports that one of every nine woman will develop breast cancer. Each year, new cases diagnosed in the United States number nearly 200,000. Breast cancer claims the lives of close to 50,000 women annually and accounts for more than 30 percent of all cancers in women.
For more information about the Pink Ribbon Tea call (330) 743-3200.