Prevent Cancer Foundation is a partner in the Breakaway from Cancer campaign, an initiative which brings visibility to the work of four non-profit organizations and the resources we offer to the public. Together, our services cover the continuum of care from prevention through survivorship to support individuals pre-and-post diagnosis including advocacy, access and care.
As part of this campaign, along with our Breakaway from Cancer partners, the Cancer Support Community, Patient Advocate Foundation, the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship and our sponsor Amgen, we participated in the Dempsey Challenge in Auburn/Lewiston on October 13th and 14th. The Dempsey Challenge has become an annual event to raise funding for the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing at Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC), in Lewiston, ME.
Actor Patrick Dempsey and his sister Mary Dempsey founded the Dempsey Center after their mother was treated for cancer at CMMC. The mission of the Dempsey Center is to improve the quality of life for individuals, families, and communities impacted by cancer through support, education, integrative medicine, outreach and prevention. The center staff strives to embrace the whole person using a collaborative and holistic approach. They also outreach into the Auburn/Lewiston community with messages of prevention and risk reduction, often targeting underserved populations.
Prevent Cancer Foundation and Breakaway from Cancer had the opportunity to contribute to the excellent work that the Dempsey Center is doing by providing additional information to attendees about prevention, financial assistance, supportive care and survivorship. We talked to many of the more than 4,300 participants about the campaign and the resources that our organization provides in advocacy, research, community outreach and education.
Breakaway from Cancer also honored the work of an outstanding survivor and advocate in the community, Kristin Short. Kristin is a singer/songwriter, mother of three, and two-year breast cancer survivor from Norway, Maine. She has made a significant impact on the community with her passion for music through performances at several benefit concerts for the Dempsey Center. She also provides a comforting presence to those going through cancer treatment, traveling from Norway to Lewiston offering encouragement to those who have little support.
As always, the community welcomed Breakaway from Cancer and Prevent Cancer Foundation with enthusiasm and interest, sharing with us their own stories of prevention, survivorship, heroism and loss. Thank you, as always, to the community for welcoming us and supporting the work of our organizations, and to the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing for another successful event to raise funding and bring the community together to educate, empower, and celebrate the lives and passion of so many!
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