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By Komen Denver, January 18, 2010 9:12 pm

“Power consists in one’s capacity to link his will with the purpose of others, to lead by reason and a gift cooperation” - President Woodrow Wilson

Michele Ostrander, executive director of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Denver Metropolitan Affiliate was recently named one of Denver’s most influential people by 5280 Magazine. Ostrander is in some pretty impressive company (deservedly so!). The list includes Denver Mayor, John Hickenlooper, U.S. Congresswoman Diana DeGette and Denver Nuggets Carmelo Anthony. Congratulations, Michele!! Check it out here: “The 5280 Fifty”.

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By Komen Denver, December 28, 2009 11:12 am

At the Denver Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® we have high expectations for 2010; we think it’s going to be a GREAT year! Our hearts are full of hope and optimism!! But, we’d like to remind everyone that we still need your help and that there is still plenty of time to give generously to the cause.

As part of your New Year’s resolution, we hope that you will join us in our fight against breast cancer by making your tax-deductible year-end gift today The simple fact is that the needs in our community are outpacing the dollars the Komen Denver Affiliate has to provide assistance. The fact is that despite being able to give more than $2.8 million to 35 different organizations throughout our service area during this past year, there were more than $1 million in requests we were unable to consider.

Nicole Davis and Daughter Abigail (Courtesy of Sandy Puc' Studios)

Please help us continue to be able to provide assistance and education to women across Colorado, no matter their age, race or economic situation. Women like Nicole Davis, who just last year, at the age of 25 and a brand new mom, was diagnosed with breast cancer. And women like 63-year-old Jeanette Oxelson, who, because she was uninsured at the time she discovered the lump in breast, spent critical months being turned away by “the system” until finally, by the grace and good luck of her “angels” (and her own dogged determination to not take “no” for an answer, especially when her life was on the line!!), received a grant from the Affiliate to be treated at the Caritas Clinic.

The difference you can make: $100 could pay for one mammogram or one day of post-surgery home health care; $250 ($20 per month) could cover five clinical breast exams; $500 ($41 per month) could provide five diagnostic ultrasounds; and $1000 could allow us to provide 10 mammograms for those who might otherwise go without. Of the funds raised by the Affiliate, 75 percent stays in our local community and is awarded to nonprofits providing breast cancer education, screening, treatment, and support services for medically underserved individuals. The remaining 25 percent funds international breast cancer research.

Make your tax-deductible year-end gift today by visiting www.komendenver.org and clicking on the “Donate Now” button.

We thank you for your support and generosity.

Happy New Year from the Denver Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

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By Komen Denver, August 18, 2009 10:18 am

In 2005 the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Denver Affiliate created a program for young women to increase awareness about the  importance of breast health. This program is known as the Young Women’s Program. The program was also created to educate young women of the importance of early detection of breast cancer in women ages 18 – 34. The mission of the Young Women’s Program is to — educate and empower young women to take an active role in their own breast health, by reaching out to them through outlets which play a major role in their life.

There are four main focus areas of the young Women’s Program. They include Komen Konversations, College Outreach, Information Distribution to Spas and Boutiques, and Bookmark Distribution.

The Komen Konversation’s piece provides educational opportunities to marginalized and hard to reach ethnic communities including the African-American, Asian, and Latina communities in various settings within our 12-county service area (e.g. in homes, businesses, places of worship, etc.). Volunteers are trained to teach, contact and locate venues, and host culturally sensitive breast health and breast cancer education sessions in the community.

The focus for the outreach to colleges encompasses collaborating with college health centers, health fairs, and student organizations to get breast health information into colleges and to educate students on breast health. This program is very similar to Komen Konversations but will focus on the college campuses in our community.

The Distribution to Boutiques & Spas program focuses on distributing breast health information and other breast materials to select businesses in our service area; preferably to small, independently owned boutiques and spas which target younger women.  The information is displayed on counters, windows, and/or fitting rooms to educate customers on breast health.

The idea behind the Bookmark Distribution is very simple. The Denver Affiliate can order free bookmarks through Komen National. The bookmarks are distributed to local libraries, including those on college campuses and in underserved communities, on an ongoing basis throughout the year (quarterly). Also bookmarks could be distributed to small, locally owned bookstores in our service area.

To learn more about the Young Women’s Program or to become a volunteer, please contact Amarilis Viera-Simoes,
Director of Education & Marketing, at 303.744.2088 ext. 302 or AViera@komendenver.org.

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By Komen Denver, July 7, 2009 2:14 pm

Colorado women face significant barriers to cancer screening and treatment, despite federal money available to pay for these services, a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says. Uninsured and underinsured women in Colorado already know what the GAO study confirms: Colorado is one of the 16 most restrictive states in the nation when it comes to connecting low-income women with diagnosis and treatment.

Two of the findings really troubled us as an organization. The first was that due to a lack of funding, more than half of eligible low-income, uninsured and underinsured women nationwide are not receiving recommended breast cancer screening.

The second is that in more than a dozen states, including Colorado, have left in place restrictions to Medicaid coverage for breast and cervical cancer screening that effectively eliminate all but a small fraction of low-income women, leaving the rest with few options for assistance.

“Whether you live shouldn’t depend on where you live,” said Michele Ostrander, Executive Director of the Denver Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  “Regretfully, this report confirms what we’ve long seen – that in our state your ability to be treated for breast cancer often depends on whether you went to the ‘right’ clinic, or live in a city or rural area.”

Few statewide options for treatment are available to low-income, uninsured women who are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer but ineligible for Medicaid under the Treatment Act. This year, the Komen Denver Affiliate is providing more than $700,000 to help fill the treatment gap locally, and providing an additional $2.1 million for breast cancer screening, diagnostics and treatment support in the 12-county area surrounding Denver.