Texas Affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Sen. Kirk Watson, Rep. Patrick Rose, Singer Kelly Willis, Breast Cancer Survivors and Activists Rally for Passage of Prop...( Texas Joins Nationwide Campaign Ch...),Health

Texas Joins Nationwide Campaign Challenging U.S. to Close the Gaps in

Breast Cancer Research, Care and Mortality

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Tonight, the Texas Affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure will host hundreds of breast cancer survivors and activists at the Komen Community Challenge rally in support of Proposition 15 at Stubb's Bar-B-Que with singer Kelly Willis, Senator Kirk Watson (D-Austin), Representative Patrick Rose (D-Dripping Springs) and Cathy Bonner, founder of KillCancer.org. Prop 15 would create $3 billion over 10 years to invest in research to find the causes and cures for cancer.

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"Texas has been hard hit by breast cancer, and low-income women and women of color have been hit the hardest," said Ramona Magid, executive director of the Komen Austin Affiliate. "We need to close the gaps in research, public policy and access to quality care that make breast cancer deadlier for some women. As federal funding for cancer research declines, Prop 15 gives us the chance to close the research gap and make Texas a global leader in the war on cancer."

Nationwide, one in eight women will get breast cancer in her lifetime. This year, nearly 12,000 women in Texas will receive a breast cancer diagnosis and more than 2,400 of them will die from the disease. Low-income women have lower screening rates and are three times more likely to die from breast cancer.

Tonight's rally launches Texas' participation in the Komen Community Challenge, a 25-city grassroots campaign to elevate breast cancer on the national agenda and draw attention to disparities in breast cancer mortality. Komen for the Cure is marking its 25th anniversary year by ratcheting up the fight against breast cancer and taking its special brand of pink ribbon activism on the road.

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