Breast Cancer

A local scrapbooking store took part Saturday in a nationwide effort to raise money for breast cancer research. ScrapMania! of Hagerstown held an "all-day crop" to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. "We do this on a pretty regular basis, but this is the first time we've joined with other stores to raise money," said Sherrie Zlomke, owner of ScrapMania! The fundraiser was part of Scrap Pink, a campaign sponsored by Scrapbooks Etc. magazine to raise money for the breast cancer foundation.

wandaw@herald-mail.com TRI-STATE - The results of a national breast cancer study released earlier this year may encourage women to think more seriously about weight loss, said Andrew Oh, a gynecologist with Comprehensive Women's Care in Hagerstown. According to an American Cancer Society study, women who gain 20 to 30 pounds after high school are 40 percent more likely to get breast cancer than women who keep the weight off, said spokesman Steve Jones of the society's Baltimore office.

KEEDYSVILLE -- School bus drivers honk and children wave, and some regular travelers on Md. 34 even shake their finger at Elizabeth Crutchley when they notice she is off her schedule. Regular as clockwork, Crutchley, 38, has been walking from her home in Keedysville to Sharpsburg and back six days a week as she trains for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk scheduled for May 3 and 4 in Washington, D.C. "It's a 39-mile walk over the two days," Crutchley said, noting some walkers will be walking just 26 miles.

Melissa Hetzer of Hagerstown will spend a weekend walking to help eradicate breast cancer by participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in May in Washington D.C. The walk in Washington is one of a series of weekend fundraising walks taking place from April through October to help raise awareness and funds for access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer. The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer events are noncompetitive, offering participants a choice of completing the distance of a marathon (26.2 miles)

On Sept. 19, Black Belt Hope Covert and Master Jimmy Smith of White Tiger Martial Arts Studio hosted a kickathon where 20 martial arts students kicked continuously to help the Susan G. Komen Fund help find a cure for breast cancer. The martial arts facility in the South End Shopping Center held a silent auction with many items such as gift cards donated from local businesses and other items. The auction raised $286 and the kickathon raised $1,776 for the Komen fund. One kicker, Adam Semler, raised a total of $1,240 and did more than 1,000 kicks during the event.

The AC&T store managers and their employees raised more than $35,000 for the recent Breast Cancer Awareness -Cumberland Valley Step 'n Stride walk held in October. The donations were raised throughout the year by holding bake sales, raffles, motorcycle rides, ham sandwich sales, snow cones and a dunking tank. The money could not have been raised without the support of AC&T's customers and employees. After the AC&T employees raised the highest donation ever, Adna Fulton, the owner of AC&T, matched his employees efforts with a donation of $38,000 for a grand total of $73,000.

When Linda Pryor learned she had breast cancer, her first thought about treatment was simply to have the breast removed so she wouldn't have to deal with the constant worry that some cancer remained. Not only did the Lemasters, Pa., resident not have to have her breast removed, but she also didn't go through traditional, external radiation therapy. Instead, this past summer, Pryor became one of about 30 women to receive a new, internal radiation therapy known as MammoSite at the John R. Marsh Cancer Center at Robinwood Medical Center, east of Hagerstown.

Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death due to cancer in women. Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in women and second leading cause of death due to cancer. This year, an estimated 205,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed, and there will be 40,000 deaths. But more than twice as many women die from heart disease and stroke than from all forms of cancer including breast cancer.

Cathy Socks had more than 12 inches of her hair cut off to donate to the Locks of Love program, a nonprofit organization that uses donated hair to make hairpieces for children who have lost their hair due to illness. During her battle with breast cancer, Cathy lost all of her hair. She decided after her treatments, to let her hair grow until it was exactly five years later from the day she was diagnosed with cancer. She said she is very thankful to be a breast cancer survivor.

One month after being diagnosed with breast cancer, Kay Bergstrom of Hagerstown found a perfect place to talk to other women who shared her affliction: At an annual event at the Sagittarius Hair Skin & Nails at the Venice Inn. She was one of about 90 people at a "Life is a gift - day of beauty - hairdressers target breast cancer" event organized by Sagittarius owner Marsha Knicely as a memorial to her late mother, E. Rosemary Finney, who had...