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Newark, NJ - April 24, 2009 - City of Newark Deputy Mayor for Neighborhood Engagement Margarita Muñiz, Department of Child and Family Well-Being Director Maria Vizcarrondo, UMDNJ President Dr. William F. Owen, Jr., Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Founder Nancy Goodman Brinker, and Komen North Jersey Affiliate Co-founder and Executive Director Deborah Q. Belfatto joined together to unveil the “Mammography in Motion” mobile mammography van today in front of City Hall.

A partnership between the City of Newark, UMDNJ and Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the mobile mammography van will provide convenient access to mammogram screenings and clinical breast exams, as well as educational information for uninsured and underinsured residents in Newark and neighboring cities in Northern New Jersey. It will feature a variety of amenities including a digital imaging system, dressing room, exam room, and lavatory space.

“This is an issue which affects all of us and I believe that our collective efforts can help to banish this disease and find a cure,” Mayor Booker said in a statement. “Early detection and treatment is critical. I congratulate our partners on developing this initiative, and urge our residents to take advantage of these free services, and to participate in Sunday’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.”

“I am thankful to the Susan G. Komen foundation for rolling out this state-of-the-art mammography van at a time when thousands of women are losing their health care benefits in this economic crisis,” said Deputy Mayor Muñiz.

“We are proud of the partnership between University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, and the City of Newark,” said Director Vizcarrondo. “This assures that every woman in Newark has access to a safe mammogram and to information to make educated choices. No barriers, no excuses, get tested today!”

Nancy Goodman Brinker, Founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary from 2001-2003 and U.S. Chief of Protocol from 2007 - 2009.

Ms. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and it was then that the global breast cancer movement was launched. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grass-roots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting collectively to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Events like the Komen Race for the Cure have invested more than $1.2 billion to fulfill the promise, making the foundation the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

Since its inception, Komen for the Cure has played a critical role in every major advance in the fight against breast cancer, forever transforming how the world talks about and treats this disease, and helping to turn millions of breast cancer patients into breast cancer survivors. One in eight American women is diagnosed with breast cancer - early detection is critical in treating it.

The Komen North Jersey Affiliate was founded in 1997 and serves nine counties in Northern New Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren. Some 75 percent of net funds raised by the Affiliate ($10 million since inception) stay in the Affiliate’s service region to support education, screening and treatment programs for uninsured populations. The remaining twenty-five percent ($4.5 million to date) is directed to research for finding the cures.

For more information on the Susan G. Komen North Jersey Race for the Cure, contact the Komen North Jersey Affiliate website at www.komennorthjersey.org/race, or call (908) 277-2904, ext. 14. For the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Breast Care Helpline, call 1-877 GO KOMEN.

For more information on fighting cancer, visit the American Cancer Society’s website at www.cancer.org or call 1-800-ACS-2345. For information on City of Newark non-emergency services, including Child and Family Well-Being services, contact the Non-Emergency Call Center at (973) 733-4311.


 

Contact:        Newark Press Information Office: (973) 733-8004
                      Pressoffice@ci.newark.nj.us

                      Terri Guess, UMDNJ: (201) 341-5786
                      Guesstp@umdnj.edu