Komen Foundation - Central MS Affiliate

Susan G. Komen - Central Mississippi Steel Magnolias Affiliate

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, we have invested more than $1.3 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.

The Central MS Steel Magnolias Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure was formed in 1999 and over the last ten years has invested over $1 Million in breast health and breast cancer awareness projects in our 30 county service area. Up to 75% of net proceeds generated by the Komen Central MS Steel Magnolias Affiliate stay in our service area providing education and free screening mammograms for underserved/underinsured women. 25% goes to the National Susan G. Komen for the Cure Grants Program for energizing science to find the cures. The 30 counties that the Central MS Steel Magnolias Affiliate serves are: Adams, Amite, Attala, Bolivar, Claiborne, Copiah, Franklin, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Leake, Leflore, Lincoln, Madison, Pike, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Sunflower, Walthall, Warren, Washington, Wilkinson, Yazoo.

Over the last three years the Central MS Steel Magnolias Affiliate has granted out over $750,000 in Mississippi. During the 2008/2009 grant period, the Central MS Affiliate provided the following:

* 11,502 women were educated about various factors related to breast cancer
* 784 mammograms
* 1500 women began to do breast self-exams
* 55 ultra sounds and follow-ups
* 1 surgical consult
* 63 diagnostic procedures were completed
* 51 patients received free transportation to receive mammograms or other breast health services

Other Breast Cancer Facts:

*Only 51.2 percent of women 40 and older in the U.S. reported having a mammogram in the last year.
*Mammography will detect about 80-90 percent of breast cancers in women without symptoms
*Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer in cancer deaths among women in the U.S.
*In the U.S., breast cancer death rates have steadily decreased since 1990.
*Currently, there are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors alive in the U.S. today.
*For all races, the five-year relative survival rate for women with localized breast cancer in the U.S. is 98 percent.