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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Barb McIlvaine Smith
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McIlvaine Smith brings breast cancer awareness to the Capitol
Hands out pink bracelets to fellow House members
HARRISBURG, Oct. 7 – There was a sea of pink in the state House today as legislators received pink breast cancer awareness bracelets from state Rep. Barb McIlvaine Smith, D-Chester.
"By wearing pink in October, we show our support to the thousands of Pennsylvania women battling breast cancer, and remind others to be vigilant with their monthly self-exams and annual mammograms," said McIlvaine Smith, who paid for the bracelets out of her own personal funds – not tax dollars.
In Pennsylvania, approximately 27 women a day are diagnosed with breast cancer, and some 2,200 women in Pennsylvania die each year of the disease.
"While you got dressed for work this morning, a woman in Pennsylvania was diagnosed with breast cancer. As you ate your lunch, another got the news she has breast cancer. And during your drive home, yet another woman in Pennsylvania will be diagnosed," McIlvaine Smith said. "But the good news is with better diagnosis, treatment and continued research, more and more women are beating this disease."
According to the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, when breast cancer is found at its earliest stage, the five-year survival rate is 98 percent. There are more than 2 million breast cancer survivors alive in the United States today.
For more information about breast cancer, visit the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition Web site at www.pabreastcancer.org.
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