Why Orlando, Florida?
Gaps in access to quality care, gaps in public policy, and gaps in research contribute to breast cancer deaths in Florida and cause some women to die of the disease more than others. For example, shortly before the Komen Community Challenge in Orlando, the state was identified in The Wall Street Journal as one of 21 states that denies Medicaid coverage to women with breast cancer if they were not diagnosed at a federally funded clinic. Orlando was the eighth stop of the Komen Community Challenge, a nationwide, grassroots campaign to elevate breast cancer on the state and national agendas and to highlight the disparities in breast cancer care and mortality.
Did You Know?
Uninsured women are more likely to receive a late-stage breast cancer diagnosis and are 30 to 50 percent more likely to die from the disease than women with insurance.
Did You Know?
More than one million women in the State of Florida are uninsured.
Public Policy Challenge
The Florida Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (FBCCEDP) provides mammograms and early detection services for low-income and uninsured and underinsured women between the ages of 50 and 64. The program is successful, but at current funding levels it reaches less than 10 percent of eligible women. In addition, as The Wall Street Journal noted, Florida denies Medicaid coverage for women with breast cancer simply because they were diagnosed at the "wrong" clinic. The Florida Komen Community Challenge united policymakers, health care providers, community leaders, survivors, and thousands of young women in calling for improved public policies regarding breast cancer.
The Events
On September 22, 2007, 2,500 Girl Scouts and breast cancer survivors marched through Universal Studios to Hard Rock Live for the first-ever "Pink Guitar Smash" and a young women's breast health educational program. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer provided a video welcome, followed by a proclamation he and the City Council signed, read by Commissioner Sam Ings. Rep. Geraldine Thompson spoke about the importance of early detection, a message made more powerful because she delivered it as a survivor undergoing the last of her radiation treatments.
At the close of the program, a combination of Girls Scouts, survivors, and representatives from seven Florida Komen affiliates (the Florida Collaborative) smashed 25 pink guitars, symbolically smashing the gaps that make breast cancer deadlier for some women. The media-friendly event was covered by local TV news stations.
In addition, as part of the Florida Komen Community Challenge, Komen on the Go™ visited the University of Central Florida in Orlando and the University of Florida in Gainesville. Komen on the Go™ is a hands-on learning experience featuring a pink trailer/interactive learning center that has eight-foot graffiti walls where people share memories or pledge support in the fight against breast cancer. When the graffiti wall was full of messages, the Komen Central Florida Affiliate took it to the Legislature to help make sure breast cancer is a priority in Florida.
Outcome and Next Steps
The Florida Komen Community Challenge educated thousands of girls and young women about breast health and influenced policymakers at every level of government to make breast cancer a priority in the state. Specifically, the Pink Guitar Smash event helped inspire Rep. Thompson and other legislators to pledge to Close the Gap in the law that leaves thousands of low-income and uninsured women without breast cancer treatment. Going forward, Komen will continue to work with policymakers to make sure that every Florida woman who needs breast cancer treatment can get it and that more eligible women have access to screenings and early detection services. If you want to help, please contact your legislators and ask them to Close the Gaps that make breast cancer deadlier for some women.
