5th Annual YWCA

Discover Pink
Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness

Saturday, October 10, 2009

This is a year of changes!

Date: The new date is the second Saturday, October 10th.

Location: The new walk route begins and ends at our new location on the corner of Broadway and Market.

Walk Route: As you probably already know, we've moved to our new location. When we began the Discover Pink Walk in 2005, we were at our State Street location and Willson Park was right across the street. Now we are located on the corner of Market and Broadway, and we're moving the walk to begin and end at our new location. The new walk route will meander through some great old neighborhoods, past Craftsman era homes and along North Mill Creek. The shorter walk will turn around then at 2 1/4 miles. A second, longer route of a little over 3.5 miles will continue on past Saturday Market and to the Capitol Building. As a salute to our beginnings, the longer walk route will turn around at Willson Park, and return to the new YWCA building.

Early Bird Registration: Through September 15th, adult registration will be the same as last year - $15. After Septemaber 15th, adult registration will be $20. Youth registration (12-17) will be $10 and children are free.

We have teams this year! If you'd like to captain a team or be a team member, please call Terra at 503-507-4642 or email her at tnaught@ywcasalem.org.

The need is great

Each week in Oregon, 51 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 9 women die from this disease. Oregon has one of the highest breast cancer rates in the nation. Marion County has one of the two highest breast cancer rates of any county in Oregon. Early detection is the best protection! The cost for breast cancer screening with no insurance is over $400. For the YWCA, the discounted rates, made possible by our generous sponsors, are $50 for a breast exam and $125 for a mammogram.

Discover Pink Walk 2009 funds will provide breast cancer screening to symptomatic women under 40. However, the number of economically distressed women who need breast cancer screening has increased this year and we need to expand our program! Our goal, with your help, is to also include funding for:

Women who have a history of immediate family members with breast cancer
Low income, uninsured women who are between ages 50 and 64 who have never had a mammogram

What happens if a woman who earns a low income and has little or no insurance discovers a lump in her breast? Before the YWCA Discover Pink Walk, women many times waited, hoping the lump would go away. However, the generosity of the community has changed this desperate situation. As individuals and teams, people participate in the YWCA Discover Pink Walk. The registration fees, along with individual donations, provide screening funds. And medical professionals in clinics and imaging centers become partners in collaborating to help provide screening services. This is the 5th annual YWCA Discover Pink Walk. In that time, funds from Discover Pink have provided clinical breast exams, mammograms, and/or ultrasounds for over 140 women. All funds raised from Discover Pink stay in the local community to provide breast health screening. If a woman eligible for our service is diagnosed with breast cancer, she can then be enrolled in a program through the state for treatment.

If you or someone you know is without insurance and cannot afford an annual women’s health exam and mammogram, please call the YWCA Women’s Health Resource Center to learn about local resources. You may qualify for free screening.

For more information, please call the YWCA Women’s Health Resource Center at 503-581-9922 x 304 or (Spanish) x 302. To be notified when online registration opens, email discoverpink@ywcasalem.org