Minority women donors sought for Healthy Breast Tissue Collection

When Jane Ka’ala Pang learned she could donate a small amount of her healthy breast tissue to support groundbreaking breast cancer research, she immediately said “yes!” Earlier this year, Ka’ala Pang, along with Angela Acevedo and Charlene Kazner, traveled to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at Indiana University Simon Cancer Center as Orange County representatives to donate their healthy tissue.

Now, the three women are working with Komen Orange County to raise awareness and encourage participation for the first-ever West Coast healthy breast tissue collection on Nov. 2 – to be held right here in Orange County. The goal of the event is to collect 150 samples from women of Asian American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, African American and Latina descent, in an effort to fuel global breast cancer research.

This is an exclusive opportunity for Southern California residents to directly impact global breast cancer research.

Below is more information about this new Komen Tissue Bank initiative in Orange County. We are actively seeking donors for the Nov. 2 collection event and hope to build awareness throughout Southern California about groundbreaking breast cancer research.

Susan G. Komen Orange County to Host First-Ever

West Coast Healthy Breast Tissue Collection 

Women of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds encouraged

to donate on Nov. 2 to support groundbreaking breast cancer research 

COSTA MESA, Calif., Sept. 9, 2013 – Susan G. Komen Orange County, in partnership with MemorialCare Medical Group, and made possible by a grant from The Allergan Foundation, is proud to announce an unprecedented effort to obtain healthy breast tissue from racially and ethnically diverse women in Southern California.  The collection will take place on Saturday, Nov. 2 at MemorialCare Medical Center (11420 Warner Ave, Fountain Valley) with the goal of recruiting at least 150 women of Asian American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, African American and Latina descent. These groups are underrepresented in the more than 3,000 tissue samples acquired thus far and will be used by medical scientists around the world to advance breast cancer research and find the cure.

“All of us at Komen Orange County are proud to host the first tissue collection on the West Coast that goes to support breast cancer research on a broader, global scale,” said Lisa Wolter, Executive Director, Komen Orange County. “Because of Orange County’s diverse population, and the strong support we’ve received for previous endeavors, we’re confident this initiative will be a success and hope women from all backgrounds who have been touched by a loved one’s battle with breast cancer will consider donating a sample.”

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at Indiana University Simon Cancer Center was created after identifying a serious deficit in the area of healthy breast tissue research. By bringing the initiative to Orange County, the Komen Tissue Bank hopes to diversify its current samples, which represent a primarily Caucasian donor pool, to more adequately represent the global population.

The event will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Each donation visit takes approximately 90 minutes and the process is described as quick and relatively painless by tissue bank representatives.

To participate, individuals must:

• ·         Be a women at least 18 years or older
• ·         Have the ability to understand and the willingness to sign an informed consent
• ·         Give an hour and half of their time to complete a questionnaire and provide a breast tissue sample
• ·         Disclose any antibiotics taken prior to a dental procedure
• ·         Not be allergic to local anesthetics
• ·         Not be receiving a therapeutic blood thinner
• ·         Not have breast implants

Interested donors can sign up online at http://www.komenoc.org beginning Monday, Sept. 23, one day after the 22^nd annual Susan G. Komen Orange County Race for the Cure, and obtain more information about the Komen Tissue Bank at http://komentissuebank.iu.edu.

Since its inception 22 years ago, Komen Orange County has raised more than $35 million for breast health care services, education and groundbreaking global research. Seventy-five percent of those funds raised each year are invested in local breast health needs, ensuring that education, screening, treatment and support are accessible to all women in the community, regardless of age or background. The remaining 25 percent is dedicated to the Komen Award and Research Grant Program to fund innovative breast cancer research on a broader scale through programs like the Komen Tissue Bank.

Community partners supporting this healthy breast tissue collection drive include: Unidos Contra el Cancer de Seno Coalition, Pacific Islander Health Partnership, Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation, Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance and St. Joseph’s Hospital Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment.

About Susan G. Komen®

Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Suzy, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer. Today, Susan G. Komen® works to end breast cancer in the U.S. and throughout the world by investing more than $790 million in breast cancer research and $1.5 billion in community outreach programs over the past 30 years; providing funding to help low-income and uninsured women get screened and get treatment; advocating for cancer research and outreach programs; and working globally in more than 30 countries. Visitkomen.org. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

For more information on Susan G. Komen Orange County, please visit www.komenoc.org or call 714-957-9157.

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