Friday, June 17, 2005
Contact: Jessica Robinson, (573)751-0290
First Lady Melanie Blunt Will Participate in Susan Komen’s "Race for the Cure"
ST. LOUIS—Missouri First Lady Melanie Blunt will lend support to the Susan Komen "Race for the Cure," to help raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer.
Finding a cure for breast cancer is of particular interest to the First Lady who lost her mother to the disease when she was 19. Mrs. Blunt will join more than 50,000 participants to bring attention to breast cancer research and awareness and most importantly to honor the memories of loved ones taken by the disease.
"I am honored to walk with survivors, supporters and family members who are united towards a common goal," Blunt said. "The race is a testament to those we have lost to breast cancer, to those who continue to fight the disease and to their families and friends who give them unconditional love and support through this struggle."
After the race, Mrs. Blunt will help present awards to the top finishers.
This is the seventh race held in St. Louis and donations are expected to exceed $1.75 million. This will be the second time Mrs. Blunt participated in the race. In 2002, she joined with members of the Junior League of Springfield to take part in the "Race for the Cure."
Breast cancer is the leading cancerous cause of death among American women and is second only to lung cancer in overall cancer deaths. Every three minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer. Young women in their twenties and thirties can and do get breast cancer.
In 1982 Nancy Brinker established the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. The Foundation is a national organization whose network of volunteers works through local affiliates and Komen Race for the Cure events to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. Since its origination in 1983, the Komen Race for the Cure Series has grown from one local race with 800 participants in Dallas, Texas, to a series of more than 100 races and one million participants.