| Runners raise Hispanics' awareness about cancer 10,000 participants are expected in Komen race 06/01/2001 By Linda Stewart Ball / The Dallas Morning News
Elizabeth Guardiolo was too sick to run in the Dallas Race for the Cure.
But by the time the Plano race came around, the breast cancer survivor was
feeling much better, so she laced up her running shoes and ran.
That was eight years ago. She's been running or walking each year in the
Collin County regional event ever since. On Saturday at the 11th annual
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure, more than 235
of her family members, friends and acquaintances will be among the
expected 10,000 participants.
Ms. Guardiolo's team, known as Hispanics for the Cure, is attempting to
bring breast cancer awareness and show the importance of early detection
to an underserved though rapidly growing group.
"This is our third year for the Hispanic team," said Ms. Guardiolo, 39,
who is a team co-captain. "Each year, we've grown larger and larger.
More and more people hear about it and say, 'Oh, I want to be on your
team.' "
This year, the team will be easy to spot. The runners will be the ones
sporting T-shirts that say "Hispanics for the Cure, Angel of Hope."
They're running in memory of Georgine McDaniel Marich, granddaughter of
the founders of the El Fenix restaurant chain. She died of breast cancer
in January, soon after she turned 40.
"She was such a beautiful, sweet person," Ms. Guardiolo said. Ms.
Marich's parents, sister and friends will run with the Hispanic team.
"Georgine would never believe how many lives she's touched through her
cancer," said her sister, Jina McDaniel. "I think this would have really
moved her."
Nationally, the foundation estimates that 192,200 women will be
diagnosed with breast cancer this year and that 40,200 will die.
A $425,000 goal
Organizers hope to raise at least $425,000 this year, $25,000 more than
the 2000 race. The bulk of the money will go to breast cancer research,
education, screening or treatment, mainly via grants to agencies in
Collin, Denton and Grayson counties. The remaining 25 percent of net
proceeds is earmarked for the foundation's national research efforts to
find a cure.
The Hispanic team is one of 114 signed up to participate in the race.
Some have as few as 10 entrants, while others have nearly 300 people.
"These teams represent Plano area businesses, community groups,
churches, medical facilities and things like that," said race director
Bob Wilmot, noting that this year, more Plano schools are participating
as teams than ever before.
"That's kind of exciting."
Race for the Cure Co-Chairperson Sandra Morton said that organizers are
thrilled with the outreach to minorities.
"It's important to get everyone out," she said.
Ms. Guardiolo stressed that her team members aren't trying to be ethnic
separatists. Non-Hispanics are welcome on the Hispanic team, and some
are running with them. They're just trying to fill a need, she said.
Ms. Guardiolo coordinated bilingual outreach presentations through the
Plano-based Organization for Latin Americans and Practical Parent
Education this spring, encouraging people to get mammograms, showing how
to do breast exams and drumming up support for the Plano Race for the
Cure.
"I was trying to target the Hispanic community in Collin County," said
Ms. Guardiolo, a shipping clerk for Par Products in Wylie, which
sponsored a few race entrants. "I really wanted people to know about the
race and breast cancer. They [those who attended the presentations] were
so sweet and wanted to know more information. Even the men; they wanted
to know about their wives, and I thought that was really cool."
Hispanic outreach
Because she speaks English, Ms. Guardiolo said, she had a better
understanding of what was happening to her in November 1992 when she was
diagnosed with breast cancer. She was fortunate to get proper treatment.
But she feared that Hispanics with no or limited English-speaking skills
might not be as lucky. To spread the word, she enlisted the help of her
mother, Janie Martinez, and two bilingual Collin County women: Rosa-Maria
Crocker, a Plano breast cancer survivor, and Nivia Knox, a McKinney
mammographer.
Ms. Crocker, 43, said she was surprised by the number of people over 50
who have never had a mammogram.
"They didn't realize the necessity of one," she said, adding that she's
also worked to dispel the myth that breast cancer is a disease that only
affects elderly women. "They don't realize, for instance, that Susan
Komen was somebody who died of breast cancer at 36 years old."
Although the race is Saturday morning, festivities will begin Friday
night with a Pasta Party & Silent Auction, which is open to the public.
It will be hosted by Carrabba's Italian Grill and the Junior League of
Plano and will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Plano West High School, 5601 W.
Parker Road. Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for children if they're
bought at Collin Creek Mall before 4 p.m. At the door, the price is $15.
"We hope everybody comes out to support us. Every dollar we raise helps
another person in Collin, Denton or Grayson," said Debby Mason,
president of the Susan G. Komen Collin County Regional Affiliate.
The race will be at J.C. Penney's corporate headquarters at 6501 Legacy
Drive. A coed 5K Run/Walk will begin at 8 a.m. The One-Mile Family Fun
Run/Walk will start at 8:30 a.m. Registration is available at
www.planorace.com or at Collin Creek Mall before 4 p.m. Friday.
Staff writer Linda Stewart Ball can be reached at 214-977-6968 or at
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