Susan G. Komen West Michigan launches the Alive West Michigan campaign, focused on lives saved through education, screening, and diagnostics offered locally.
WEST MICHIGAN, July 15, 2013 – Local breast cancer survivor Yvette McClain was told she could not receive a mammogram, even after discovering a lump, as she was under the age of forty. She received the treatment and testing she needed through a Susan G. Komen West Michigan grant. “I am alive because I am a Komen grant,” McClain states. Click here to see her full story.
The Alive West Michigan campaign focuses on local lives saved, through a nationally known organization—Susan G. Komen West Michigan. Alive West Michigan is focused on spreading awareness and raising the needed funds for breast cancer education, screening, and diagnostics.
“It’s important that the community is aware that seventy-five percent of everything we raise here stays here, funding local organizations,’’ said Jennifer Jurgens, executive director of Susan G. Komen West Michigan. “The people that use those funds are all around us, in our neighborhood and in our families. That is the first thing I want people to know—that we’re helping our community.’’
Newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients can feel isolated, alone, and sometimes lost until they connect with resources such as Komen West Michigan. Alive West Michigan illustrates how the local organization connects people with the medical help they need, regardless of insurance, age, or gender.
“What is unique about this organization is the local impact it delivers," said Jurgens. "The money that we’re raising is helping my friends who don’t have great insurance get breast health services including mammograms, biopsies, and even genetic testing. And in doing so, we’re helping save lives.”
The Alive West Michigan campaign can be supported locally through donations of $5, $10, $20, or more by going to www.alivewestmichigan.org. All funds raised will go to support vital services for the one in eight women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime.
“We have some wonderful medical facilities here—so many more opportunities that we didn’t have twelve years ago,’’ said Carol Perschbacher, Komen West Michigan board president and twelve-year breast cancer survivor. “We’ve been very blessed in West Michigan. I’m especially proud of the brave men and women that have stepped up and shared their very personal stories of survival. It’s not easy to relive a cancer journey, but we all believe that our stories of survival will help save more lives in our community.’’
For more information on how to get involved in the fight against breast cancer, including ways to donate, visit www.komenwestmichigan.org. To view the survivor stories and learn more about Komen’s local impact, visit www.alivewestmichigan.org.
Source: 834 Design & Marketing
