October 2008


On October 1, the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I talked to the co-creator of the Pink Ribbon, the Founder of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, The Patron Saint of Breast Cancer herself, Evelyn Lauder.
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EL: You’re the first blogger I interviewed with.

MAM: Really? Well, I hope it’s good for you! Here we go. Evelyn, what made you start the BCRF?

EL: I was looking for an existing charity to do research in breast cancer. We went all over the country – but there were no citizen based research foundations concentrating exclusively on research.There was a hole in the market.I believe if you see a need and don’t act on it, it’s a sin.

MAM: Another of the many reasons you’re a Saint.

EL: I needed to do this like I needed a hole in my head!I have a full life, I have a job, I’m a mother and a wife! When we started in October of 1993, and raised $640,000. We gave $159,000 to research.

MAM: It’s your fifteen year anniversary! Congrats! Next year will be your Sweet Sixteen. I see a pink cake with 16 candles.

EL: We should do something about that! This year our overhead is only 8%. Charity Navigator has given us four stars for the 7th year in a row. The BCRF is the only breast cancer charity that has had a 4 star rating for such a sustained period of time. Now this year we’ve raised over 39.6 million dollars, and on October 28th, at the BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION SYMPOSIUM AND AWARDS LUNCHEON we’re giving 34.6 million to 166 researchers.

MAM: Amazing.

EL: Isn’t it fabulous?

MAM: Beyond. Evelyn, you’re my idol. Who is your idol?

EL: All the women who are potential patients, current patients and the ghosts. We are finally united in our goals and given attention to a disease that was neglected in terms of research – and now it’s really paid off.

MAM: Why is it paying off now?

EL: Had another organization been focused exclusively on seed funding for innovative clinical and translational breast cancer research back in 1993, I believe I never would have started my organization. I am thrilled that we are now joining forces with Avon and Susan G. Komen, which is really a dream come true. Rather than be a competitor with another organization that is doing research and have rancor, it’s better for us all to join forces against this enemy. We all have the same goal - to end breast cancer. We’re in a time where federal government has cut its funding. People are leaving the field. But now we’re working together with other fundraisrers. We have more and better ammunition and we can hire people who can stay on a project for several years.

MAM: This is great news for all women. Thank you.

EL: Thank you for doing the appearance in Boston. (I’m did an in-store appearance with Elizabeth Hurley and Evelyn in Boston at the Bloomingdale’s Chestnut Hills October 4 from 2:00-3:00 and all three of us are lighting the Museum of Fine Arts pink at 6:15 the same day)

MAM: Are you kidding me? I would go to the moon for you.

MAM: Speaking of pink, what do you have to say to the Pink Bashers?

EL: Pink is girl, blue is boy. It’s a symbol of the alarm to remind a person to do what they need to do. If you’re a woman over 40 or 35 or older with a family history of breast cancer, make sure to get your yearly mammogram. Or if you’re younger, do self-exams or if you feel a lump you must get checked by a breast specialist. Many doctors don’t believe that young women can get breast cancer. I asked Dr. Larry Norton. Scientific Director of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Director of Breast Cancer Programs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center what is the youngest case he’s ever seen, and you won’t believe what he told me.

MAM: What did he tell you?

EL: 11. He saw a girl who had breast cancer at 11 years old.

MAM: I believe it. I met a girl who had it at 18. What’s the reason?

EL: Larry thinks that it’s possibly the estrogens in milk and the estrogens in chicken breast – they give chickens hormones to plump up their breasts and the trace element goes into the meat and when ingested, into the human system. He is outraged that the United States government is the only government that allows pregnant cows to be milked.Too much estrogen increases – it can increase the risk of breast cancer.

MAM: My mother (aka “Smother”) always said that. She told my oncologists that chicken and milk were the reasons for so much breast cancer and they thought she was off her rocker. Evelyn, what are you most proud of?

EL: To save lives gives me satisfaction beyond belief.

(Below is the Estee Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign I created, pro bono. Evelyn’s started the BCRF with a dream: World Pink.)

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On Friday, October 17th, National Mammography Day, Cancer Vixen partnered with New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the American Cancer Society and St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan at a press conference, to launch the “No Breast Left Behind” campaign.
The “No Breast Left Behind” campaign, will raise awareness of the importance of funding mammograms for uninsured and underinsured women, a group more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer. I designed a limited edition “No Breast Left Behind” t-shirt for sale on the American Cancer Society’s Hope Shop at www.TheHopeShop.org/cancervixen.
I gave a t-shirt to Speaker Christine Quinn. (Pictured with me and the tee below.)
The rest of you are going to have to cough up 20 bucks - and when you do, you’ll feel great getting it and wearing it. The proceeds will help fund screenings for uninsured and underinsured women in New York City and the Hudson Valley.
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Speaker Christine Quinn is phenomenal not just because she is the most powerful woman is New York City,number 2 to Mayor Bloomberg’s Number 1, but because Christine has worked hard to make breast cancer a thing of the past. We women in New York City are lucky to have her as our advocate. I was way beyond honored to have her at the press conference. She, like me, is committed to making sure every woman here in the city gets screened for breast cancer whether she has insurance or not. Her mother died of breast cancer when Christine was just sixteen.
Also dedicated to eliminating cancer is Frank Driscoll. (He’s with me below.) Frank is Project Manager, Design Guru Deluxe and Chief Envelope Pusher at the American Cancer Society. He asked me to come up with another NO BREAST LEFT BEHIND design, and here it is. My Smother prefers this one, naturally. Both designs are available in s, m, l and come in white, eggplant and in t-shirt and wife beater styles.
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Here’s some of the products, there are a total of 10 different versions! Check these beauties:
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If you know anything about me, you know this: when I diagnosed with breast cancer, I did not have health insurance. As I was writing Cancer Vixen I found out that 49% of those diagnosed with breast cancer have a greater risk of dying from the disease. Why? Women who do not have health insurance get screened later because they don’t have the the funds for the test and can’t afford treatment.
But there’s the good fact: if you DO catch breast cancer early - you can have a 98% survival rate. That is the closest thing we have to a cure. And if you’re too young to get a mammogram, then make sure you get your breast exams and there is NO BREAST LEFT UNTOUCHED*.
Speaking of mammograms, it was also the day that the CANCER VIXEN FUNd at St Vincents Catholic Medical Centers sponsored its third annual Free Mammograms on National Mammography Day. It was our biggest and most successful screening EVER. The waiting area was packed with women. PACKED. St Vincents has told me they will be screening women for the next few weeks, and that’s when I can tell you exactly how many women we did.
I also had a mammogram that day.
In case you’re wondering, I’m all clear.
Don’t forget to get your shirt and help a woman in need! www.TheHopeShop.org/cancervixen.
Peace, Love and Health Insurance for All!
Marisa
*NO BREAST LEFT BEHIND and NO BREAST LEFT UNTOUCHED were created by Shafeen Charania. Shafeen has a massive job at Microsoft. His mother died from breast cancer.
The Cancer Vixen FUNd at St Vins is once again the beneficiary of Bloomingdale’s. We are the charity of OPENING NIGHT! I’ll be there at 6:00.
Opening Night at Bloomingdales

PINK is the color of healthy breast tissue, October, and my new handbag. Where did I get it? Portero! Portero is having the Portero Specials: “Think Pink” Event where they can shop and bid on a great selection of pink jewelry, handbags, shoes, and watches and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the 24 ite,s in Portero Specials will be donated to the Cancer Vixen Fund at St. Vincents. I’ve found great values at Portero. It’s a fun auction website to bid on your favorite luxury brands in jewelry, watches, bags, accessories, fine housewares and art. As you know, the Cancer Vixen FUNd benefits women who are uninsured and underinsured. We believe that every woman, whether she has insurance or not, deserves the best breast care. So does Portero. Check them out right here: http://www.portero.com

And for those of you who need to think a little pinker: http://www2.portero.com/think-pink

You can also check me out on their blog: http://porteroluxury.blogspot.com/

Peace, Love and Health Insurance for All!