Runners, walkers will fight breast cancer

The American Breast Cancer Association is looking for runners and walkers to go the extra mile Saturday to help eliminate the deadly disease.

Beginning at 9:30 a.m., walkers and runners will depart from the Julian Smith Casino on a 5K course around Lake Olmstead as part of the 10th annual Pink Ribbon Run. Registration for adult runners is $15 at Lake Olmstead.

Walkers are required to register, but there is no cost to participate, though donations are urged. Registration for the one-mile kids run is $10, with net proceeds going to support breast cancer education efforts, research and to reimburse the cost of mammograms for uninsured or underinsured patients.

"Nobody in Augusta or the CSRA should go without a mammogram," said President Reba Sarkar, who said the American Breast Cancer Association urges all women to get an annual mammogram.

"We are all about prevention," she said. "We don't talk the talk. We walk the walk."

Sarkar said her organization wants women to go to doctors they trust for mammograms because being comfortable is very important for women so they continue to protect their health.

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer in women, behind cancers of the skin. Each year, more than 215,000 women are diagnosed with the disease and a woman dies from breast cancer in the country every 14 seconds, according to the Breast Cancer Resource Center's Web site.

Breast cancer survivors will be honored with a pink rose. Sarkar said the event is to teach survivors and their supporters that "there is life after breast cancer."

The event features door prizes, awards for the top three finishers in the races, a performance by the Greenbrier High School band and refreshments.

Registration forms are available at First Bank and Georgia Bank & Trust Co. locations. For information, visit the American Breast Cancer Association's Web site, www.abca.info.