Governor Martin O'Malley Recognizes Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Orders Capital Dome Lit Pink
O'Malley will serve as Co-Honorary Chair of the 2009 Race for the Cure ®
ANNAPOLIS, MD (October 9, 2009) –In honor of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Governor Martin O’Malley today ordered the State House dome illuminated pink this evening to remind Marylanders of the thousands of women and their families in our State who bravely battle breast cancer every year. Next weekend, Governor O'Malley will join Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith as Co-Honorary Chairs of the 17th Annual Race for the Cure® in Hunt Valley.
“Lighting the State House dome this evening is a symbolic gesture that will remember the victims of this disease, honor the survivors, and remind all of us that there is still work to be done to find a cure,” said Governor O'Malley. “Susan G. Komen for the Cure has lead the global breast cancer awareness effort for more than 25 years, and Katie and I are proud to support their important work.”
“Today, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we join our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, nieces, aunts, family and friends to help find a cure for breast cancer,” said First Lady Katie O'Malley. “We join our fellow Marylanders and our fellow Americans in remembering those who have lost, and stand next to those who have won the battle against breast cancer.”
The Maryland Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure was founded in 1993. As is the case with most Affiliates, Komen Maryland began as a volunteer-run Race for the Cure. In 2008 the Maryland Race for the Cure had 32,000 participants and raised $2.8 million. Through events like the Komen Maryland Race for the Cure®, Komen Maryland has invested $15 million in community breast cancer programs since 1993.
“We appreciate the exposure that lighting the State House in pink brings to breast cancer. This is a great reminder that even though we have a lot to celebrate with our accomplishments, we need to remain vigilant with annual screening. Early detection is the best protection for a long, healthy life,” said Robin Prothro, Executive Director of the Maryland Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.
In Maryland this year, 3,660 new cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women and 810 women are expected to die from the disease. An estimated 79.8 percent of Maryland women over 40 reported having a mammogram in the past two years. However, women who reported that they do not have any kind of health insurance or healthcare coverage were less likely to have had a mammogram and clinical breast exam in the past year (34.3 percent). Annual mammograms are the best way for women to lower their risk of dying from breast cancer: screening tests can find breast cancer early, when it's most treatable. In fact, the survival rate for women diagnosed with breast cancer before it has spread outside of the breast is 98 percent.
For more information or to register for the Race for the Cure®, visit www.komenmd.org.
