Fight cancer at Miracle Mile Walk

It's time to get the sneakers out, dust off the knee braces, and purchase a new tube of BenGay in preparation for the Seventh Annual Miracle Mile, a three-mile walk designed to raise money to fight breast cancer in the CSRA.

One hundred percent of the net proceeds from the walk will stay in the community to provide breast cancer care, including free mammograms to the under-served.

The Miracle Mile Walk is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 20, at the Augusta Common, which is at the intersection of Eight Street and Reynolds Street downtown.

Participants may register online at www.universityhealth.org/ miraclemile. They may also send an e-mail to foundation @uh.org or call 1-706-729-5656. Although advance registration is encouraged, registration forms may be turned in from 8 to 9 a.m. the morning of the walk.

All area breast cancer survivors will be honorary starters at the walk, which is being sponsored by the University Health Care Foundation.

Moreover, any individual or team that raises a minimum total of $100 will receive free T-shirts.

Last year, University Hospital's Breast Health Center, which includes the mobile mammography unit, served more than 11,600 women, facilitated the diagnosis of 288 new cases of breast cancer, and provided patients with a holistic approach to their treatment and recovery.

For more information about the Miracle Mile Walk, contact Emma Smith at 706-359-7345.

Some interesting facts about breast cancer are as follows:

l About 175,000 American women will develop breast cancer this year, and approximately 43,400 American women will die from the disease.

l Although primarily a woman's disease, about 400 men die from breast cancer each year.

l The number of deaths due to breast cancer could be lowered if every woman at age 40 had an annual mammogram, a yearly breast exam by a physician, and practiced monthly breast self-examination (BSE).

l Risk factors for cancer include being older than 50, having a personal or family history of breast cancer, never giving birth, and giving birth for the first time after age 30.

There is also some evidence that a high-fat diet may increase the risk of breast cancer.

l Survival rates are high for women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, when the cancer is small and has not spread.

l Through early detection and improved treatment, more women than ever are beating breast cancer.