CEOs Gone Pink

On Tuesday, we had a well-attended Breast Cancer seminar at St. Joseph Medical Center.
Thank you to all the individuals and businesses who supported the event.

Wendy and her team from Oliver's Hair Salon roped me into (no pun intended) a pink hair weave to show my support. These photos show the progression:

Later in the evening, I was in the elevator with a few employees. While everyone greeted me, they would not mention the new weave until I acknowledged it. They seem relieved that I was aware of my new look.

According to the National Cancer Institute the following are estimated new cases and deaths from breast cancer patients in the United States in 2009:

- New cases: 192,370 females and 1,910 males
- Deaths: 40,170 females and 440 males

To put that in perspective, there are 22 new cases every hour of every day and 4 deaths during the same timeframe. I learned tonight that women in their twenties have even been known to have breast cancer as well.

Screenings provide an opportunity to look for cancer before a person has any symptoms. It can help people find cancer at an early stage when it may be easier to treat.

I am very proud of our Breast Center and our clinical team for their great work. Thank you to Drs. Kuckelman, McCroskey and Geier for your presentations tonight. They were very well received and much appreciated.

I look forward to hearing what you or your organizations are doing to promote Breast Cancer awareness and screenings.