READ PINK for Breast Cancer Awareness

When I received this press release I realized this was one I really had to post because this is a cause near and dear to my heart. 

You see in April 1996, over 15 years ago, I came home from college to find both my parents waiting to talk to me. I knew this wasn't a good thing. It was on that day I found out that my Mom had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer and would be having surgery the very next week. It was all so speedy and sudden I honestly didn't have time to think, but I had time to feel. I remember putting on the strong face for them and falling apart to my then boyfriend who would a year and a half later become my husband. It was a difficult weekend and week, but my Mom stayed strong. We had a wonderful church family behind us and we felt God's presence with us as well. My Mom was a true beacon of strength through her surgery, and through the subsequent chemo treatments. Through the nausea, the hair loss and the fatigue, I remember her staying strong and positive and because she did, I was able to as well. And thankfully 15 years later I still have my Mom with me. She's a Grandmother now, watching her two grandsons grow up and helping me take care of them when I work during the summer and now enjoying retirement with my Dad.  Thank you God for giving me another 15 years with Mom and I hope I have many more!

It's through research funded by The Breast Cancer Research Foundation mentioned below that treatments are developed and surgeries are perfected so that people like my Mom can be 15-year Breast Cancer survivors. And hopefully one day a cure will be found for this disease that still claims many lives each year. 

PENGUIN GROUP (USA) IS IN THE PINK FOR

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

It’s time to think pink to shrink cancer

What’s black and white and pink all over? The initiative by the Penguin Group (USA) called Read Pink™ in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This literary embrace of a life-saving cause last year resulted in nearly 400,000 best-selling romances shipped with Read Pink seals and information about the charity it supports – the Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. In 2010 and 2011, some 12,000 floor displays also carried the Read Pink message. The result raised awareness for BCRF, the only cancer organization to receive A+ from the Institute for Philanthropy.

“We are delighted to be able to continue this initiative in support of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation for a second time.  We hope that awareness for the Foundation’s work will only grow by bringing more attention to this important cause,” said Leslie Gelbman, President of Mass Market Publishing, Penguin Group (USA). To mark the occasion, Penguin Group (USA) is again making a $25,000 donation to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

“The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is very grateful to be part of Penguin’s Read Pink program again this year,” said Myra J. Biblowit, President, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  “This visible initiative will certainly raise awareness about BCRF.”

The donation provides vital funds to support the mission of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.   As Dr. Laura J. Esserman, director of the Carole Franc Buck Breast Cancer Center at the University of California at San Francisco said,. “[BCRF] awards support leaders in translational science and assume that they will be able to best dispense the funds. This is invaluable. Most grants require a year’s lead time before ideas can be funded. The BCRF funds allow you to plan ideas a few months ahead, and are flexible in support. The awards also come with the promise of continuity to explore new ideas as they arise. I also really appreciate the annual awards ceremony and the expression of thanks to the scientists. We don’t often get that and it really is rewarding and inspiring to see that people appreciate us, even if we don’t come up with all of the answers. It is an expression of thanks for the efforts we put forward to try to find answers.”

The novels chosen for Read Pink 2011 are eight bestselling mass market titles by some of Penguin Group (USA)’s most beloved female authors. Included this year are Nora Roberts, Catherine Anderson, Christina Dodd, Jillian Hunter, Lynn Kurland, Amanda Quick, Bertrice Small and Lauren Willig.  More than 300,000 copies of the special editions will be printed featuring Read Pink seals on the covers.  In addition, Penguin Group (USA) is including information in the back of each book in an effort to make readers aware of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and encourage them to become actively involved in supporting the organization.

For more details about the Read Pink initiative and to view a complete list of the participating retail outlets, please visit www.penguin.com/readpink. 

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About The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® was founded in 1993 by Evelyn H. Lauder as an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to funding innovative clinical and translational research. In October 2011, BCRF will award $36.5 million to 186 scientists across the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and China. Currently, more than 90 cents of every dollar donated is directed to breast cancer research and awareness programs. With exceptionally low administrative costs, BCRF continues to be one of the most efficient organizations in the country. BCRF has received an“A+” from The American Institute of Philanthropy.  For more information about BCRF, visit www.bcrfcure.org.

About Penguin Group (USA)

Penguin Group (USA) Inc. is the U.S. member of the internationally renowned Penguin Group.  Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. adult and children's trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Viking, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, The Penguin Press, Riverhead Books, Dutton, Penguin Books, Berkley Books, Gotham Books, Portfolio, New American Library, Plume, Tarcher, Philomel, Grosset & Dunlap, Puffin, and Frederick Warne, among others. The Penguin Group (www.penguin.com) is part of Pearson plc, the international media company.

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