Breast Cancer

A hands-on charitable effort like no other takes place Tuesday as Massage Envy in Glendale raises funds to fight breast cancer with Massage for the Cure. This year marks the fifth time the Glendale shop will donate a portion of proceeds from every massage to the Los Angeles County affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. "Last year, I did 128 massages," Glendale shop owner Helen McDonagh said. "I'm hoping to beat it this year. " In 2009, massage therapists at McDonagh's clinic raised more than $1,900 with relaxation, prenatal, Swedish and other massages, donating $15 for each one-hour session.

The annual Komen Orange County Race for the Cure is all about surviving. Just ask AnnMarie Piantoni, who ran in her second race late last month. She was among the race's almost 24,000 participants, one of the more than 1,600 survivors of breast cancer, easily -- and proudly -- visible in their bright pink T-shirts. It is for them that the race, now in its 14th year, continues. Those 24,000 people, at what is always among the top fundraisers for the national Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, raised $1.8 million, with more money trickling in toward a lofty $2-million goal.

Tim Willert NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- Telly Young can't stress enough the importance of getting a routine mammogram. Four years ago, the Glendale Adventist Medical Center nurse was diagnosed with breast cancer. "Fortunately for me it was discovered early enough that they could catch it in time," Young said Friday. "Personally, I thought it was a death sentence." Young, who manages the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, underwent a lumpectomy and radiation and made a full recovery.

Two La Crescenta businesses, Dream Dinners and Curves, have partnered together to raise money for the Susan G. Koman Foundation and the upcoming Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk — going the distance to fight breast cancer. Fundraising efforts continue in both stores through Oct. 27. The two business owners, Faith Cartland of Curves La Crescenta and Lisa Uhern of Dream Dinners, have decided on a goal of $2,000 that they hope to donate to the Foundation. Both women are optimistic that they will be able to reach their goal as they have implemented a simple fundraising process.

Joyce Rudolph ROSE BOWL -- Esther Zambrano considers herself one of the lucky ones. The 15=year Glendale resident was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1989 and had her right breast removed May 19, 1989. She also had three lymph nodes removed and all were clear. The cancer was confined to a capsule, her doctor had told her. He said that was the best kind to have. "I didn't have to have chemotherapy or radiation," Zambrano said. "God was very good to me."

?Beating Breast Cancer? was the topic at Glendale Memorial Hospital?s series of free lunch/informational sessions Oct. 13. Some 60 women, with a smattering of men, packed the hospital?s main auditorium. Gift bags and prizes were handed out by Paula Devine and Elizabeth Manasserian , chairwoman and vice chairwoman, respectively, of the Glendale Commission on the Status of Women, the presenting organization. The audience was well-sated with sandwiches, salad and plain talk by a panel of cancer experts who know their business.

If you find popcorn and movie tickets stuffed in a bra, you must be at Soroptimist International of Glendale's fourth annual Bras for a Cause fundraiser. The event has contestants decorate bras, which they pay $100 to enter in the competition. The bras are then auctioned off to the highest bidder. Funds raised go to breast cancer services at Glendale hospitals and other local charities that help women and children, event founder Kathy Lefkovits said. This year's competition has some innovative ideas depicting the theme Bras for a Cause Goes to the Movies, she said.

Those who haven?t witnessed the Great Wall of China in person have most likely seen it in pictures and postcards. But who has laid eyes on the Great Bra of China? The oversized bra?s designer has seen it, and attendees of the annual Soroptimist International of Glendale?s Bras for a Cause fundraiser on Saturday will get a chance to lay eyes on ? and maybe own ? the kitsch creation. The annual fundraiser, which invites any and all men and women with the creative urge to decorate a one-of-a-kind bra for charity, has been growing ever since it debuted five years ago, said Kathy Lefkovits, the Soroptimist club member who founded the event.

It was a perfect fit. Dozens of women who participated in a special bra-fitting event at the Glendale Galleria Nordstrom on Thursday did something for themselves and for all of woman-kind. "One million dollars, one million reasons, one cure — that's our theme for this event," said Beth Ailman-Hart, a sales consultant for the Wacoal bra-manufacturing company, which put on Thursday's fundraiser — "Fit for the Cure." The event offered complimentary bra fittings for women and helped raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Glendale Police Capt. Carl Povilaitis received the most online votes, garnering him the Man in Pink title in Glendale Adventist's Army of Pink campaign, a biennial event created to call attention to breast cancer awareness and the importance of early detection. He participated in the campaign, he said, because he has friends who have had breast cancer and other friends who had long battles with lung cancer and did not survive. “You can't go through life without running into those issues, and you see how it impacts people and families,” he said.

Students from Rosemont Middle School and Crescenta Valley High School coordinated their second annual Lemonade Stand benefiting breast cancer awareness on July 15. The four girls - Leah Gharibian, 12, Deena Gharibian, 13, Lara Rostomian, 14, and Nairi Rostomian, 16 - put in many hours making posters and painting T-shirts to wear, said Talin Gharibian. The day before the event, they spent 13 hours baking goodies to accompany the ice-cold pink lemonade. They added breast cancer ribbons in a creative fashion to every treat - in swirls of sprinkles or pink frosting, ribbon stickers on the individually wrapped baked goods, and pink ribbon chocolate molds.

More than 750 women and girls in our community are the recipients of tens of thousands of dollars from Soroptimist International of Glendale. Every year, the mighty Soroptimists give to local charities and hospitals. On Thursday (June 21) funds were ceremoniously donated to Glendale's three hospitals for breast cancer services. The Glendale Hilton was the setting for the Soroptimist's largesse, most of which has come from the club's popular Bras for a Cause. Raised from last year's ninth annual event was $31,000.

Clara Martinez was born Clara Cano, on Oct 21, 1956 in Fabens,Texas. She graduated fromEastBakersfieldHigh Schoolin 1974 and attended California State University Fresno where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Recreation Administration in 1979. She completed her education with a Master's Degree in Social Work in 1982. After earning her Masters, she became employed at Carl Warren and Company, Claims management inBakersfieldCalifornia.  Following relocation toGlendaleCalifornia she worked for Blair and Company as a Claims Manager.

Monica Mark   Monica Mark, February 11, 1961-December 23, 2011. After a courageous battle with breast cancer, Monica passed away peacefully at her home in Las Vegas.  Monica was born in Monterey Bay, California, and later graduated from Crescenta Valley High School.  She worked as a legal secretary for over 20 years and loved what she did. Monica was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Frieda Lawrence and is survived by...

VERA SVOBODA    It was fitting that Vera passed away on Labor Day, September 5th, since she labored her whole life to make her family and community a better place.  She passed peacefully with her family at her bedside reminiscing and celebrating her life.  Vera was born on December 20, 1920 in Prague, Czechoslovakia.  She settled in California and raised her two daughters Eva and Ann with her husband Milo, only after they had to escape her homeland when the communists took over.

The joint was jumpin' as Glendale Memorial Hospital hosted its 15th Annual tribute to cancer survivors. It was a “Star Spangled Salute” to more than 110 community members and their guests who have played a role in the fight against cancer. On July 28, the cul-de-sac circle on Eulalia Street, in front of the Glendale Memorial Cancer Center, was the colorful setting. The Marcia Ray Breast Center also played host. Its staff, supervised by Maryann Robertson, helped hang lanterns, flags and posters of the stars and strips to represent the evening's patriotic, USO theme.

Soroptimist International of the Verdugos got a head start on breast cancer awareness. Instead of waiting for October, the designated month for the national drive, more than 60 members and their guests gathered at Burbank’s Pickwick Bowl for “Strikes n’ Spares” on June 26. This seventh annual fundraiser is the organization’s major fundraiser to combat breast cancer. Since beginning the fundraiser, “We’ve raised over $100,000 for grants we give to breast cancer survivors,” said Immediate Past President Edith Fuentes.

Lineage Dance opened this year’s Brand Dance Series on May 15 with works that displayed the Pasadena-based company’s tremendous athletic prowess and lyrical grace, making the free, Sunday afternoon performance a lovely way to celebrate Leslie C. Brand’s 152nd birthday at the Brand Library and Art Galleries. The artistic director-choreographer of Lineage Dance, Hilary Thomas, creates dance works that tackle issues that touch our lives — body image, aging, breast cancer, mental illness and the workings of the brain — in her abstract, modern dance vocabulary.

“Bras for a Cause Celebrate the Arts” — that was the 2011 theme for the go-to annual fundraiser of the spring. Presented by Soroptimist International of Glendale for the eighth year, artistically decorated bras spilled over every nook and cranny at the Oakmont Country Club on April 9. All were on full display on auction tables in the dining room and two extra rooms so that supporters could bid on them. The Soroptimist mandate was that bras could be decorated in any way, as long as they were innovative and imaginative.