Komen Florida Affiliates, Breast Cancer Survivors and Activists, Girl Scouts Take the Stage at Hard Rock Live to Help Smash Out Breast Cancer

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ — On Sept. 22 the Florida Affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure will join forces with The Jacobson Group and the Girl Scouts Citrus Council in hosting a Pink Guitar Smash at Hard Rock Live at Universal CityWalk to launch the state’s participation in the Komen Community Challenge. The day will begin at 8:00 a.m. with the Jacobson Group 2K Walk for Awareness through Islands of Adventure and end at Hard Rock Live where the Pink Guitar Smash will take place. The Jacobson Group Walk for Awareness is an event designed to provide awareness and early educational opportunities for young women.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070122/NYM084LOGO)

This event marks the ninth stop of the Komen Community Challenge, a 25-city campaign to elevate breast cancer on the national agenda and to draw attention to disparities in breast cancer mortality. Many Americans — racial and ethnic minorities, low-income women and those with little or no health insurance — are less likely to receive quality cancer care and are more likely to die from the disease.

At the Florida Komen Community Challenge, breast cancer survivors and activists will come together to urge policymakers, community leaders, corporations and health care professionals to recognize breast cancer as the grave crisis it is and affect change that will close gaps in research, public policy and access to quality care that cause the disease to be deadlier for some women.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in Florida, and more than one million women are uninsured. This year alone, nearly 12,000 women in the state will get a breast cancer diagnosis and more than 2,700 of them will die. Disparities in access to quality care and holes in public policy contribute to breast cancer deaths in Florida and cause some women to die of the disease more than others. We must close the gaps!

Nationwide, one in eight women will get breast cancer in her lifetime. Low-income women are three times more likely to die from breast cancer and uninsured women are 30 to 50 percent more likely to die from the disease than women with insurance.

   WHAT:    Florida Komen Community Challenge    WHO:     Interviews available with:             — Robert F. Thompson, President Komen Central Florida Affiliate             — Dr. Shenin Sachedina, Breast Surgeon and Author             — Meghan Evett, National Komen Representative             — Roger Jacobson, The Jacobson Group             — Invited local elected officials             — Theresa Beard, Girl Scouts of Citrus Council    WHEN:    Saturday September 22, 2007            8:00 a.m. — Walk begins            9:00 a.m. — Guitar Smash at Hard Rock Live    WHERE:   Hard Rock Live, Universal CityWalk, Orlando  

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070122/NYM084LOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

CONTACT: Ana Cruz, +1-813-503-1795, for Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Web site: http://www.komen.org/