Pink Pumpkin Fest raises breast cancer awareness and research support

October 10, 2013

WHAT:
Pink! It’s the color on parade during the third annual Pink Pumpkin Fest at UF Health on Saturday, Oct. 12. The event kicks off at 8 a.m. when cyclists roll out of campus during the Pink Pumpkin Pedal-off charity bicycle ride to raise money in support of triple-negative breast cancer research at UF Health. That’s followed at 10 a.m. by the Pink Pumpkin Painting Party, hosted by UF Health to promote early detection and survival of breast cancer through regular screening mammograms. UF Health Breast Center nurses and doctors will be on hand to provide breast health and screening counseling. The event is free and open to the public.

Saturday’s Pink Pumpkin Fest participants will arrive to the sight of about 250 pumpkins – spray-painted pink by volunteers on Friday – nestled in the UF Health Pink Pumpkin Patch on the south lawn of the UF Cancer/Genetics Research Complex. People can choose their own special pumpkin from the Pink Pumpkin Patch to decorate with the help of UF Health Shands Arts In Medicine volunteers. Inspired by their own experiences with breast cancer or by the experiences of family and friends, attendees at previous events have created Pink Pumpkin masterpieces, decorated with paints and embellishments.

WHY:
The Pink Pumpkin Fest is intended to heighten awareness about breast cancer, to promote early detection and increased survival through regular screenings, and to celebrate the lives of women who have battled breast cancer. Breast cancer is the leading cancer death for women of all races. Every year, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer … that’s one woman every three minutes. Nearly 40,000 women die each year from breast cancer … one woman every 13 minutes. The American Cancer Society estimates as many as 30 percent of those deaths could be prevented if every woman 50 years and older were aware of and followed through on recommended screening practices, such as annual mammograms and monthly breast self-exams.

WHEN:
8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12

WHERE:
The northwest corner of Gale Lemerand Drive and Archer Road, near the UF Cancer/Genetics Research Complex.

For more information, call Lindy Brounley, 352-273-8013, brounley@ufl.edu or visit the visit UFHealth.org/PinkPumpkinFest website.