It's that time of year again to form our Relay For Life team. We need everyone! Log on to http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=22595. Join our team, start a new team, or help support us!

Our success is because of our community.

Thank you for all that you do for Relay For Life sponsored by The American Cancer Society.

Relay For Life is May 7th at Swan Creek Park next to Athens High School from 7:00pm-7:00 am come join the food, fun, and entertainment for all! Check back for updates.

Read below to see how the American Cancer Society helps people in North Alabama.

Through our various support groups and programs, we reach dozens of

families in the community. (The numbers below reflect last fiscal year

numbers for September 2008-August 2009 for all of North Alabama-Dekalb,

Franklin, Jackson, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan,

Shoals, Etowah and Winston Counties)

· 342 patients received help getting to their treatments through our

Transportation Grants Program.

· 306 patients received free wigs, prosthetics and/or gift items.

· 106 women took part in the Reach to Recovery program, which matches

newly diagnosed breast cancer patients with survivors.

· 293 women went through Look Good...Feel Better, a makeover session for

female cancer patients to teach them how to deal with skin and hair

changes.

· 116 men attended Man To Man meetings, a support group for prostate

cancer survivors.

· 225 families stayed for free at the American Cancer Society?s Hope Lodge

in Birmingham while seeking treatment at facilities there, for 3,210

nights total. That service saved these families an estimated total of

$369,150! (avg. hotel rate in Birmingham is $115.00 per night)

· 535 people received educational information on dealing with the

challenges of cancer with our I Can Cope Program.

· 10 students were awarded college scholarships.

· 603 calls were made to 1.800.227.2345 (National Cancer Information

Center).

We help find cures right here in Alabama.

· Currently, the American Cancer Society funds 8 researchers at the

University of Alabama at Birmingham, for more than 4 million dollars in

research grants. (one studying breast research)

· The American Cancer Society has funded three billion dollars in research

since 1946, helping fund such cancer discoveries as the breast cancer drug

tamoxifen, surgeries like the bone marrow transplant, and cancer

screenings like the PSA test. We?ve also had 44 researchers to win the

Nobel Prize.

We help cancer patients fight back.

· Last fiscal year, volunteers from across Alabama rallied with the

American Cancer Society to support a comprehensive statewide smoke-free

law.

· Last fiscal year, volunteers from the American Cancer Society attended a

Breast Cancer Lobby Day, which helped bring attention to a funding crisis

for the Alabama Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. That

program gives free mammograms to women who can?t afford them. Eventually

$400,000 was restored to the budget for these services.

· Last fiscal year, a new law extending the ABCCEDP was passed, thanks to

the support of the American Cancer Society.

Celia Werner

Development Representative

American Cancer Society

2745 Bob Wallace Avenue

Suite A

Huntsville, AL 35805

Office: 256.535.1088

Fax: 256.534.0843

We save lives and create more birthdays by helping you stay well, helping

you get well, by finding cures, and by fighting back. cancer.org

1.800.227.2345