HEALTH & WELLNESS
Third Annual Race to Beat Women’s Cancers Helps to Put Cancer on the Run By Janice Lane Palko
On September 3, A Glimmer of Hope Foundation, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and Magee-Womens Research Institute & Foundation are hosting the third annual Race to Beat Women’s Cancers at North Park.
“F
or our first race, we had more than 1,000 participants, and last year, in addition to about 1,000 racers signing up, we had horrific rain,” said Diana Napper, Founder of A Glimmer of Hope Foundation. “This year, we’re hoping for even more participants and better weather.” The first race raised $179,000 and although the second race was cancelled due to the inclement weather, it raised $114,000. In 1994, Napper founded A Glimmer of Hope Foundation to honor the wishes of her best friend, Carol Jo Weiss Friedman, who lost her battle with the disease in 1990. The grass-roots effort, 501c3 nonprofit organization is committed to battling breast cancer through cancer research and programs, and most importantly, clinical trial studies in premenopausal breast cancer, as breast cancer in younger women tends to be more aggressive. Through various fundraising events supported by businesses, sports organizations, and individuals, Diana and A Glimmer of Hope Foundation have raised more than $3 million, which has been donated to Allegheny Health Network, Magee-Womens Research Institute, the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, and Allegheny General Hospital.
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“One hundred percent of the money raised through Glimmer of Hope’s efforts for the RTBWC goes to Metastatic Breast Cancer Research, and all of the dollars stay right here in the Pittsburgh region,” said Napper. Metastatic Breast Cancer is the most advanced stage of breast cancer. In 2017, A Glimmer of Hope Foundation funded Contrast Enhanced Mammography (CEM) technology for the UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital Breast Imaging program. CEM is a technology in which a contrast agent, like that used in CAT Scan (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), is given to a patient for mammographic imaging to identify lesions and possible cancers. In 2022, A Glimmer of Hope Foundation purchased a new device for the department. This CEM technology is now available in combination with breast biopsy procedures. The CEM biopsy improves the patient experience in that it is more comfortable, faster, doesn’t have the noise of an MRI and removes the concern of claustrophobia. Using CEM biopsy for either CEM or MRI identified lesions unburdens MRI units and allows women to have needed diagnostic and screening MRIs in a timelier fashion.