Breast Cancer

State crews spray for weeds this month FRANKFORT (AP) — Kentucky workers will spray for weeds along the state’s highways this month. The Transportation Cabinet asks motorists to use extra caution when the crews are working. The cabinet says its workers target Johnson grass, giant foxtail, Canada Thistle, nodding thistle, multiflora rose, black nightshade, wild cucumber and kudzu. If they’re not treated, the state says noxious weeds can grow large enough to get in the way of a driver’s line of vision or damage pavement and embankments and clog ditches.

Women, 50 years old and older, represent 75 percent of all diagnosed cases of breast cancer. The average number of Kentucky women who die of breast cancer each year is 600. That is too many. Although many women get breast cancer, it is not a common cause of death. Heart disease is the number one cause of death, followed by stroke, lung cancer and lung diseases. Again, smoking is affecting the health of women in the Commonwealth. Breast cancer is the fifth leading cause of death.

When the ball goes up Friday at the East Jessamine vs. West Jessamine girls' basketball game, the crowd will likely be “Thinking Pink.” A pink game ball will be used at the tip-off of “Think Pink” weekend - two days of athletic events in the county that will put the focus on breast-cancer awareness. The weekend is sponsored by Saint Joseph-Jessamine RJ Corman Ambulatory Care Center. The high-school boys' and girls' teams will wear pink T-shirts during warm-ups, as will the Asbury University men's and women's teams in games against the St. Louis College of Pharmacy on Saturday.

On Friday, Farmers National Bank and the Heart of Danville will sponsor an event to benefit Ephraim McDowell Health Care Foundation in partnership with the Central Kentucky Cancer Program. “Five on Fillies” will be held in conjunction with the Kentucky Oaks, which is part of the Kentucky Derby celebration in Louisville, to help raise awareness of breast cancer. Everyone is encouraged to wear pink on Friday. Farmers National Bank has committed to pay $5 for each of their employees who wear pink and $1 for customers who come in Friday wearing pink and complete a transaction.

The fence outside the doctors' offices of Bates, Miller and Sims at Fort Logan Hospital is looking a little sexier during October, with hundreds of bras on display for the passing traffic to see. This is the second year the doctors' office has put on its “Bras for a Cause” fundraiser, promising to donate $1 to Relay for Life for every bra donated during the month of October Office Manager Jennifer Walls said last year, Bates, Miller and...

Editor's note: A previous version of this story listed incorrect dates and location for the 2012 Lincoln County Relay for Life event. The event is June 8-9 at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds.   Mary Ann May and Judy Atwood Jones are both breast cancer survivors, but they have very different stories of dealing with it. The two Lincoln County women who are helping coordinate the upcoming June 2012 Lincoln County Relay for Life say their unique stories highlight the broad spectrum of people affected by cancer.

Just in time for Mother's Day, the tough guys at Boyle County High School made their mothers proud by posing in the T-shirts the team will be selling all season to raise money to help local people who are fighting cancer. “It was their idea,” proud team mom and leader of the Quarterback Club, Debbie Sabastian, said. Her son, Cody, along with teammates Justin Roution, Levi McKinney and Keegan Kendrick came up with the idea after seeing a similar, successful fundraising effort by one of their own to help an aunt who was struggling with the added expenses of daily life after receiving a diagnosis.

It started four years ago when about 25 women from Stanford began regularly attending Kentucky First Lady Judy Patton's receptions for breast-cancer survivors. Now, the group has evolved into the Breast Cancer Support Group, a grass-roots organization working with the American Cancer Society to help women adjust to life after a diagnosis of breast cancer. The group wants to be helpful to the newly diagnosed, as well as to women who experienced breast cancer years ago, said Judy Atwood of Stanford, one of the group's original members.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation - Lexington Affiliate will sponsor a lunch to honor breast cancer survivors at 11 a.m. Saturday at Southland Christian Church on Harrodsburg Road in Lexington. Lunch will be provided free of charge to survivors and they will be treated to a fashion show by Komen sponsor, Coldwater Creek. Television personality Barbara Bailey will emcee the event and Lexington's Sue Wylie will be the guest speaker. A special award will be presented to Karen Johnston of Clark Material Handling Company in recognition of her innovative fundraising efforts.

Forget about pink ribbons. When Emily Miller and Kelly Stevens decided to raise money for breast cancer awareness and research, they wanted to try something a little different. "This is something we just kind of did on a whim," said Miller. That whim may lead to a flock of plastic pink flamingos taking over local yards in the near future. Miller and Stevens are part of Lexington's Republic Bank Making Strides Against Breast Cancer team, and a little research on the internet gave them the idea to start "flocking.

A three-day, 60-mile walk through Atlanta, Ga., might sound like torture to some, but it's a small price to pay to raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer, according to Junction City's Christy Wesley. “You definitely have to train for that one,” Wesley said with a laugh.  She will participate in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk in October. This will be the second time Wesley has made the venture, the first being five years ago, after her grandmother passed away during a battle with breast cancer.

The Boyle County baseball team is using its home game Tuesday against Danville to promote breast cancer awareness and raise money for a local cancer patient support foundation. The Rebels will be wearing pink jerseys during the game, and the team is selling pink T-shirts and wristbands and accepting donations in advance of and during the game. All proceeds from those sales and donations and from concessions sold at Tuesday's game will go to Freear's Hope Foundation at Commonwealth Cancer Center, which provides financial assistance for treatment, medicine and other expenses for cancer patients and their families with specific needs.

Shortly before her high school graduation, Danville's Delores Yocum quit school, opting to lead a different path. Now, 40 years later, she is on the verge of graduating from Bluegrass Community and Technical College with a degree in medical information technology with an emphasis in administrative options. Yocum, who has faced many struggles through her life, including a brain aneurysm six months before receiving a breast cancer diagnosis for the third time, said the important thing is to keep going.

The Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation, part of KentuckyOne Health, has received a generous gift from the RJ Corman Railroad Group to bring digital mammography services to Saint Joseph Jessamine. This gift was made in honor of Rick Corman's sister Sandy, and will create the Sandra J. Adams Digital Mammography Suite at Saint Joseph Jessamine.  Corman is the founder of the RJ Corman Railroad Group. “Rick Corman is a true philanthropist and this gift will save lives,” said Barry A. Stumbo, president of Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation.

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday and there are several reasons for this. One is I like the idea that no gifts are expected and that takes care of the commercial dichotomy that Christmas presents for me. The second reason is that, for many years, we always drove to Fredricktown, Mo., to be with our great aunt Auntie. She lived alone in an old, old log house in the Ozark Mountains. Everything about the magic of Thanksgiving has always brought up every aroma, every board that squeaked on the floor, right down to the blaze in her back yard when we burned all her trash accumulated since our last visit to Auntie's house.

The fence outside the doctors' offices of Bates, Miller and Sims at Fort Logan Hospital is looking a little sexier during October, with hundreds of bras on display for the passing traffic to see. This is the second year the doctors' office has put on its “Bras for a Cause” fundraiser, promising to donate $1 to Relay for Life for every bra donated during the month of October Office Manager Jennifer Walls said last year, Bates, Miller and...

The American Cancer Society estimates there are more than 2.9 million women living in the U.S. with a history of invasive breast cancer. Stacy Pingleton is one of those women.  Pingleton has a long family history of breast cancer. Her grandmother and at least five of her great-aunts all have been diagnosed with breast cancer. For this reason, she, her sisters and her cousins always have been “on high alert for that type of thing,” she said. “After my grandmother, I was the first one in my family (to be diagnosed)

Volleyball teams to “Dig Pink” for East/West rematch Tuesday night's volleyball match between East Jessamine and West Jessamine has been designated as the breast-cancer awareness game. On Sept. 17, both programs began raising money for breast-cancer awarenesss; donations will also be accepted at the game. East will be holding a silent auction the night of the games with proceeds going to breast cancer awareness. Fourth annual Ralph and Ryan 6K run registration The fourth annual Ralph and Ryan 6K will be run Sunday, Oct. 14. The 6K will be run from West Jessamine High School to East Jessamine High School.

As a Heritage Hospice volunteer for 15 years, Martha Grigsby is accustomed to spending time with people who are seriously ill. Recently, the tables were turned for Grigsby as she faced her own health crisis. The 67-year-old Danville woman has been battling breast cancer and recently completed 38 rounds of radiation. “(The cancer) was very small, and they caught it by the mammogram,” says Grigsby, who is known for her calm demeanor. Despite all the worries on her own mind, the day before Grigsby's radiation treatments started, she called her hospice patient to check on her needs.

Boyle County's annual Relay for Life event will take place Friday at Millennium Park. Relay for Life is an annual event done around the globe, and events can last up to 24 hours because “cancer never sleeps,” according to the official website for the event. Money goes to research for international cancer research groups, including the American Cancer Society for the United States.  The local fundraising event will be a 12-hour one, with an opening ceremony at 5 p.m., followed by a cancer survivors' dinner, and lasting until 5 a.m. Other events include a luminary ceremony at 7 p.m., a live auction, inflatables for children and food.