The South Bend Firefighters’ Local 362 union and Fire Chief Steve Cox are teaming up to raise money for breast cancer prevention and treatment. The fundraising drive, called “Putting a Hit on Cancer”, supports the efforts of the Pink Survivors breast cancer support group in South Bend.
The Pink Survivors support group is a fund dedicated to breast health programs at United Health Services. The group provides patient advocacy and assists women who are uninsured to obtain free diagnosis services to detect breast cancer early.
“Breast cancers that are found because they are causing symptoms tend to be larger and are more likely to have already spread beyond the breast,” the American Cancer Society says of early detection. “In contrast, breast cancers found during screening exams are more likely to be smaller and still confined to the breast. The size of a breast cancer and how far it has spread are some of the most important factors in predicting the prognosis (outlook) of a woman with this disease.”
The fundraiser hopes to sell $15 t-shirts to support the Pink Survivors. T-shirts go on sale Thursday, September 18 at the Central Fire Station at 1222 S. Michigan Street in front of Ivy Tech in downtown South Bend. The t-shirts will also be available at South Bend Firefighters Credit Union at 1122 S. Main St. and Firefighters Union Hall at 4025 Lincolnway West. They are on sale until mid-October.
“Most of us have had a personal connection to someone suffering from breast cancer,” says Fire Chief Steve Cox, “As firefighters, we see a problem and work to correct it. Our ‘Putting a Hit on Cancer’ T-shirts will help support those in need.”
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