11111_MBP Newsletter
4/5/06
2:42 PM
Page 1
PERKINS
PERSPECTIVE News for Friends of Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Available Online at www.marybird.org
Volume 1
Mayor-President Holden Partners with C.A.R.E. Network At the recent dedication of the C.A.R.E. Network’s Early Bird – the only mobile medical clinic in the area dedicated exclusively to comprehensive cancer screenings – East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden shared his passionate belief in the importance of early detection. Holden also announced his participation in the United States Conference of Mayors’ Cancer Awareness Program. To kick off this exciting initiative, the Office of the Mayor partnered with the C.A.R.E. Network during March, for National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month – the first of many monthly cancer awareness initiatives the Mayor and the C.A.R.E. Network will be working on together throughout the year. Advocate staff writer George Morris recently interviewed the Mayor about this partnership for an article entitled “Holden supports cancer awareness program.” A condensed version follows:
2006
35 Yea r s of Cancer Care
Several years before he was elected Baton Rouge’s Mayor, Kip Holden noticed something amiss when he saw his brother, Larry, at a reception. “He was a little off-balance. He almost missed his seat,” Holden said. “I asked, ‘Is something wrong with you?’ And he said, ‘I’m all right.’ I said, ‘You really need to go and get checked by a doctor to make sure you’re all right.’” Tests produced bad news — Holden’s brother had colon cancer that had spread to his liver. He died about six months later in July 1996. “I’m firmly convinced that had he been screened earlier, for the most part I feel he would be alive today,” Holden said. “At least he would not have died of colon cancer.” Unable to have avoided that tragedy, Holden would like to prevent more like it. So, when he decided to participate in the United States Conference of Mayors’ Cancer Awareness Program, he put his own spin on it. This year’s emphasis begins this month with colorectal cancer, and the campaign will have a different focus each month. “Colon cancer is the second most common cancer overall and third most common both in men and women
East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Melvin "Kip" Holden exits the Early Bird after touring the interior of the new mobile medical clinic.
nationally and statewide,” said Lori McCallum, executive director of the Mary Bird Perkins C.A.R.E. Network. “When colorectal cancers are detected at an early, localized stage, the (five-year) survival rate is 90 percent,” McCallum said. “The tragedy is that so many ... ...Continued on page 6
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