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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: November 4 , 2010 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~-- - q <br />SUBJECT: Recognition of Pink Campaign Sponsors <br />DEPARTMENT: Emergency Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Pink Campaign Certificates <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Doris Cecil, 245-6100 <br />Kim Woodward, 245-6100 <br />PURPOSE: To recognize local business partners who were major contributors of money, <br />goods, or services to promote Breast Cancer Awareness through the Emergency Services Pink <br />Campaign. <br />BACKGROUND: Cancer is expected to surpass heart disease and become the leading cause <br />of death in North Carolina and the nation by the year 2015. One in eight women will get breast <br />cancer in their lifetime. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 192,370 new <br />cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed among women in the United States last year. <br />Breast Cancer is not a disease that affects just women -- approximately 1,910 cases of breast <br />cancer were diagnosed in men last year. Breast cancer risk increases with age and every <br />woman is at risk. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, <br />exceeded only by lung cancer. Declining death rates are believed to be the result of earlier <br />detection through screening, increased awareness, and improved treatment. The first sign of <br />breast cancer usually shows up on a woman's mammogram before it can be felt or any other <br />symptoms are present. The American Cancer Society recommends that women age 40 and <br />older should have a screening mammogram every year and should continue to do so for as <br />long as they are in good health. Women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam <br />as part of a regular health exam by a health professional, preferably every 3 years. <br />What is the Pink Camaaian? <br />Telecommunicators, Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics serve many victims of <br />cancer annually. Many have relatives, friends and coworkers who are touched in some way by <br />breast cancer. Members of Orange County Emergency Services engaged in Breast Cancer <br />Awareness Month by wearing pink uniform hats and shirts throughout the entire month of <br />October. Orange County Emergency Services' ambulances were marked in a temporary way <br />that raised awareness for breast cancer. Telecommunicators, paramedics, and emergency <br />medical technicians distributed literature to the public and answered questions. Members of <br />Orange County Emergency Services also participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the <br />