The Chicago Bears and Bears Care officially recognized National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with the "Real Bears Fans Wear Pink" luncheon, featuring Emmy Award-winning journalist Zoriada Sambolin, who herself is a cancer survivor who shared her personal and inspiring story with the attendees.
Bears Care also presented $155,000 in grants to 16 organizations at the luncheon, including: ALAS-WIGS, A Silver Lining Foundation, the American Cancer Society, Cancer Wellness Center, Edward Foundation, Gilda’s Club, Imerman Angels, KishHealth System, Living Well CRC, R.O.W., Sing to Live, Sisters Network Chicago, The Cancer Support Center, The Methodist Hospitals, The Resurrection Project, and Wellness House.
"Since 2013, we have been able to provide screening mammograms to over 200 uninsured and underinsured women in our area, thanks to generous donations from Bears Care to our No Woman Left Behind Program," said Dr. Stacey Siatras. "From these women, we have diagnosed four cases of breast cancer, which is typically the number of cancers detected in 1,000 mammograms. Clearly, we are above the national statistics, and it is evident that this is a population that can significantly benefit from early detection with screening mammograms. With funding from the Bears Care and the exceptional technology and care with which we provide our patients at the Breast Care Center at Methodist Hospitals, we remain committed to diagnosing the women of our community at the earliest stage possible. It is our goal to improve education and screening rates, eradicate the prevalence of late stage disease, and thereby improve survival and quality of life."
Evelyn Cole and Judy Rathjen, Breast Cancer Survivors, attended on behalf of the Northwest Indiana Breast Care Center at Methodist Hospitals.
"I was pleased and excited to attend the Real Bear Fans Wear Pink event. It was a very rewarding and emotional afternoon," explained Evelyn Cole, a patient a the NWIBCC at Methodist Hospitals. "To listen to Zoraida Sambolin speak of her experience with breast cancer was something all woman need to hear. There are still so many battles out there that need to be won!"
"Real Bears Fans Wear Pink" t-shirts are still available through Bears Care for $25 apiece at https://www.events.org/creg.aspx?e=101650&m=10.
For more information on the Northwest Indiana Breast Care Center at Methodist Hospitals, visit their website or click here.