On a cool Saturday morning in early October, employees and friends of the Columbia Field Office joined with some 9,500 fellow walkers in a three-mile "Walk for Life" to raise awareness and support for the fight against breast cancer. The 48-member HUD team raised a total of $1,200 for their efforts.

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Pictured are members of HUD's team and friends. Several employees have been a part of the "Walk for Life" for the past eight years. The Field Office held a kick-off meeting in July at which employees registered for the walk or some donated money.

Finlay Park in Columbia was filled with pink on the day of the walk Although breast cancer incidence (all ages combined) is about 20 percent higher in white women than in African American women, African American women have a higher mortality rate.

The group Kjoliba Don entertained the walkers after they had finished.

Included in the walk were breast cancer survivors, who wore pink bandannas or pink caps, and others who carried pink balloons.

Breast cancer affects both women and men, and one in eight women will be diagnosed with the disease by age 60. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in U.S. women, accounting for nearly one in every three cancers diagnosed. According to the American Cancer Society, it is also the second leading cause of death in U.S. women, and some 39,800 deaths are expected in 2003. In South Carolina an estimated 3,400 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed, of which some 600 people will die.

Breast cancer is more likely to be cured when caught early, and annual screening mammograms are an important part of early detection. More than 90 percent of breast cancers are now diagnosed at localized and regional stages, for which five-year survival rates are 97 percent and 79 percent, respectively.

Some $200,000 in donations was raised from the walk. The funds will be used to promote more awareness of the disease, increase education efforts, provide for patient and family support, and conduct research. For example, each year thousands of pieces of educational material are distributed to patients, Breast Bears are presented to patients after surgery, shower cards are distributed that show how to conduct self-examinations and "Steps Against Breast Cancer" brochures are distributed.