Marking October as "Breast Cancer Awareness Month", British Embassy's Consul-General Menna Rawlings held a reception in honour of the Capital Breast Care Center, recognising its work in reaching out to medically underserved women in the capital. Washington DC's First Lady, Michelle Cross Fenty - who is also president of CBCC's advisory board - was the guest of honour for the evening.

Speaking at the reception, Rawlings said:

"The increasing incidence of breast cancer in the United States is extremely troubling. It is also the most common cancer in the UK. Hundreds of thousands of families in the UK, the US and around the world are affected by this terrible disease.

"The mutual goal for a cure for cancer has generated a long-term collaborative effort between our two countries. Indeed our scientific research partnership is an important aspect of the US-UK relationship.
 
"But until our fine scientific institutions find a cure, we are fortunate to have organisations like the CBCC, which performs an invaluable service to the Washington D.C. community. And the CBCC is, in turn, most fortunate to have Michelle Fenty as its most prominent advocate. Knowing Michelle as we do, it is no surprise that the CBCC has had such great success."

Notes for Editors

1. The reception kicks off the CBCC's fundraising week, which culminates in a gala on Wednesday, 7 October and the Third Annual Gift of Life Breakfast on Thursday, 8 October.

2. Although deaths from breast cancer have fallen since 2% since 1990, it is still the leading cause of death among women in the United States. However, according to the American Cancer Society, some 192,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and an estimated 40,000 will die. Data from 2006 - the most recent statistics available - showed that about 2.5 million American women have a history of breast cancer. Most of these women were cancer-free. Others were still undergoing treatment.

3. In the United Kingdom, breast cancer is now the most common cancer in the country where one in every nine women will be diagnosed. In 2006, more than 45,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer and rates have increased more than 50% over the last 25 years.

4. The CBCC, a project of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, provides breast cancer screening services and breast health education to medically underserved women of the D.C. area. In the District of Columbia, the number of women who die of the breast cancer is well above the national average. The Capital Breast Care Center, a community initiative of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the only community-based breast cancer screening clinic in the DC metropolitan area, provides comprehensive, culturally appropriate breast cancer screening services and promotes health and wellness to women, regardless of their ability to pay. Each month, more than 200 medically underserved women in the District receive critical information about breast health from CBCC.

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