By Naeisha Rose
Epsilon Pi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., will participate for the sixth time as a team in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk Oct. 21 in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Registration for the walk will be at 8 a.m. at 111-01 Corona Ave. Participants can park at the Citi Field Southfield Lot: 589, located on Roosevelt Avenue in Corona, according to Epsilon Pi Omega Pulbic Relations Chairwoman Sheila Bair-Bey. Some members have already joined and donated toward the cause.
The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, planned by the American Cancer Society, is in its 25th year, according to the organization.
American Cancer Society representatives were at the Epsilon Pi Omega Sorority Health & Wellness Fair Sept. 29 at PS 36 in St. Albans at 187-01, where pamphlets about breast cancer were handed out to attendees, according to Bair-Bey, who said she can’t wait for the breast cancer walk.
“We gave out information on breast cancer, and the statistics of breast cancer among African-American women,” said Bair-Bey, who added that participants will proudly wear pink ribbons to help promote breast cancer awareness.
According to figures compiled from 2016 to 2018 by the American Cancer Society, black women in the United States have a one in nine chance of developing breast cancer, compared to one in eight for white women, but die in one out of 31 cases, while white women die in one out of every 37 cases. In New York, 119.2 black women per 100,000 developed breast cancer from 2008 to 2012.
“You can also register at the Making Strides website,” said Nancy Duncan, the chairwoman of Epsilon Pi Omega Chapter. “Some of us have already joined the [EPO/AKA] team and donated to the team so that we can give the money to Making Strides of Queens.”
Epsilon Pi Omega will be wearing the AKA pink and green paraphernalia, according to Duncan.
“It’s a very personal cause for us,” said Duncan. “We have to represent women in the community and others who have or have not been touched by breast cancer… sometimes we don’t know [if we have breast cancer] and it’s too late.”
She hopes her organization will help to bring awareness about breast cancer and help to save lives.
City Councilwoman Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica), who was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha at Spelman College and has since transferred to the Epsilon Pi Omega Chapter, also wants to bring more increased attention to the cause during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“If not personally affected, most of us have a friend or a family member who has been impacted by breast cancer. It is more important now than ever before to make awareness a priority so that women will take the time to self-examine,” said Adams. “The passion to fight breast cancer is increasingly strong. Thanks to awareness events, the importance of early diagnosis has been realized.”
Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose
