Plant It Pink Campaign kicks off in Randolph County

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Local volunteers, led by breast cancer survivor Susan Lutz and co-chair Barb Brown, launched the fight against breast cancer through advocacy at the Gazebo Park in Chester with a "Plant It Pink" Kick Off.

With a goal of planting 10,000 pink tulip bulbs in Southern Illinois communities during Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, volunteers are honoring the estimated 10,000 Illinoisans who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. The Plant It Pink campaign supports ACS CAN, the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society.

"This is our first effort to involve Randolph County in the Plant It Pink campaign and we can't wait to see hundreds of pink tulips blooming next spring to remind us of the importance of continuing the fight to eliminate cancer," said Co-Chair Susan Lutz.

Through the end of July, high-quality pink tulip bulbs are available at a premium for an ACS CAN membership donation. A donation of just $10 gets you 10 of these tulip bulbs. The bulbs will be available for pick-up and planting on October 14 at the Randolph County Health Department in Chester. Next spring, the pink tulips will bloom and remind everyone of the importance of breast cancer awareness, early detection, and the steps ACS CAN is taking to ensure that all women have access to the lifesaving mammograms and cancer screenings they need.

Government officials at the local, state and national level make decisions every day about health care issues that affect all of our lives. ACS CAN fights for important cancer-related legislation and informs voters about where their elected officials and candidates for office stand on issues related to cancer.

Gwendy Garner, Director of Community Relations and Marketing was on hand to discuss how local patients have benefited from the advocacy efforts of ACS CAN. "Chester Memorial Hospital is a proud partner with the American Cancer Society. Through the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program we provide services including breast and cervical cancer screenings, office visits and consultations, ultra sounds, biopsies and a variety of additional services including surgeries to area women who otherwise would not be able to afford them."

The Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program is a program offered to eligible women to provide life saving screenings and medical procedures. ACS CAN was instrumental in gaining passage of the important legislation that created this program.

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.acscan.org.

For more information on Plant It Pink or ACS CAN and to order bulbs, call Susan Lutz at (618) 615-1195 or Lisa Mann at (618) 998-9898 or visit www.acscan.org/Randolph.