Thursday, October 08, 2009
Carilion Breast Care Center: Survivors march forward
The Positively Pink Parade honors breast cancer survivors and focuses on early detection.
The Roanoke Times
File 2007 Breast cancer survivors and friends and family participate in the Positively Pink Parade that was held in downtown Roanoke in 2007.
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National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a time for survivors and their supporters to stir attention about early detection and fighting the disease. They will set aside the morning of Oct. 24 to dress in costume, make noise and celebrate life at Valley View Mall in Roanoke.
A band will lead the Positively Pink Parade in a one-mile walk around the mall at 8:30 a.m.
"We just wanted everybody to be happy and be able to come up with a way to recognize survivors and people who have died from breast cancer and their families," said Catherine Hagan-Aylor, a clinical specialist at Carilion Breast Care Center, which puts on the parade.
Organizers encourage participants to dress "as crazy as they can," said Hagan-Aylor, making the celebration akin to a pink-colored Mardi Gras.
Four costume contest judges, who are doctors and administrators by day, will shed their scrubs and lab coats and wear pink robes and wigs instead. Robynn James, a host on WSLC-FM, Star Country, will be the master of ceremonies.
The annual parade began four years ago in downtown Roanoke with participants dressing up, banging on drums and tooting kazoos.
Last year, rain forced the pink-clad mob to move inside the mall. Marching bands played, and Hagan-Aylor said it was uplifting and silly. "On a very nasty day, people were just happy to be there, happy to participate," she said.
About 300 people attended the event, she said. The parade will happen rain or shine this year as well.
The organizers suggest a $5 donation from attendees, and the money will support the Every Woman's Life program, which provides free mammograms, Pap tests and breast and pelvic exams to low-income and uninsured women in the Roanoke Valley. The program, a statewide initiative supported by federal money, has provided more than 40,000 mammograms since 1998.
"It's an awareness event; any funds we raise are icing on the cake," Hagan-Aylor said. "We want people to understand why mammograms are important."
Mammograms, or X-rays of the breast, are a way to detect breast cancer before symptoms appear. They're recommended every one to two years for women older than 40, according to the National Cancer Institute.
The parade raised $6,700 for Every Woman's Care last year, said Hayden Barnes, who works in Carilion Clinic strategic development. Panera Bread is a co-sponsor of the event.
IF YOU GO
Positively Pink Parade
When: Oct. 24; registration begins at 7:30 a.m.; activities begin at 8:30 a.m.
Suggested donation: $5
To register in advance, call Carilion Clinic at 266-6000 or (800) 422-8482 or e-mail PositivelyPinkParade@gmail.com
