Robust campaign in the Valley launched against breast cancer

As the first full month of fall begins, awesome colors abound. Vibrant shades of red, orange, green and yellow mix amid the leaf-filled landscape to create a mesmerizing mix of splendor. In recent years, however, bright pink has upstaged the traditional autumnal color palette. That’s because pink affixed to ribbons, clothing, banners and more symbolizes the increasingly robust campaign each October to fight breast cancer in our community and in our nation.

The Mahoning Valley can take pride in the overwhelming and compassionate commitment it makes in October and throughout the year to raise awareness, to expand access to treatment and to increase the ranks of breast-cancer survivors. As breast-cancer awareness month begins this week, pink will become the color of choice to increase public visibility of the disease and to draw attention to this community’s aggressive and energetic commitment to rein it in.

In our region, the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center stands as the crown jewel of that commitment. The 3-year-old state-of-the-art treatment facility stands as a vital cog on the campus of St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown. In its short life span, the $8 million center has saved countless lives and has garnered praise from near and far. Earlier this year, it received national recognition as the winner of the Guardian of Excellence Award from Press Ganey Associates Inc. for achieving 99 percent patient satisfaction.

Its mission has attracted phenomenal community support, as evidenced by the 10,000 runners and walkers who turned out six weeks ago for the Panerathon, the largest community fundraising event in the Mahoning Valley that thus far has raised more than $1 million for the center.

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But that commitment extends far beyond support for Joanie Abdu. Many groups in the community have embraced the nationwide campaign. Businesses, nonprofit charities and college organizations — most notably Zeta Tau Alpha sorority at Youngstown State University — have united behind the color pink. The observance has grown in volume and in passion since first observed some 22 years ago. But just as in 1992, the mission of the month-long movement remains clear: The fight to cure the disease must be won.

Breast cancer is a cancer in which cells in the breast tissue divide and grow without normal control. Except for skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. About 1 in 8 women can expect to be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the disease kills about 220,000 American women annually.

Even more disconcerting is the fact that in the Mahoning Valley, breast-cancer rates remain 19 percent above state and regional averages. That’s why a continued strong outpouring of local activism remains critical.

Opportunities abound this month to continue the momentum. One of the best ways will be participation in the American Cancer Society’s 2014 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer benefit walk at Canfield Fairgrounds at 10 a.m. Oct. 12. Contact the American Cancer Society’s North East Ohio offices in Canfield for more information and registration or visit its website at www.cancer.org

That and other campaigns can point proudly to their impact on major improvements in early detection, treatment and reduced death rates. That’s why we encourage all compassionate Valley residents to don their brightest and boldest pink attire this month and enlist in the burgeoning ranks of foot soldiers committed to victory over breast cancer’s pernicious war on women.