Breast Cancer

Help-U-Check Diagnostics, Inc. introduces a new way to show support for The Wellness Community-Foothills in Pasadena Beginning at noon on April 3, the “doors” will open to The Spring into Wellness Online Auction. The auction will take place on the Internet at http://helpucheck.cmarket.com. The event will run from April 3 through April 20. Community members will be receiving e-mails about the auction, and can forward those e-mails to invite an unlimited number of guests to virtually “attend” and take part in the auction.

Vons raises funds for cancer research Vons announced on Thursday that it raised a total of $1.8 million during its annual breast cancer awareness campaign, a fundraiser that supports local breast cancer research projects and health organizations. The money will benefit a variety of organizations and agencies, including Glendale Adventist Medical Center and Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, which officials said are taking a proactive approach in the battle against breast cancer.

Ryan Carter This time it was the checkers writing the check. Glendale Adventist received a big check from local Vons employees Friday for its breast-cancer program. Vons store managers presented foundation officials with a check for $22,500 to the hospital's foundation, a fund-raising arm for the center. Under a company initiative, Vons employees began raising money for breast-cancer awareness in October and they chose the hospital for the donation.

CENTRAL GLENDALE — Danielle Lacharite Brown meticulously pulled the fragile wings off unusable collector’s butterflies with fine tweezers and glued the wings onto a bra, creating an organized color pattern and shape. Lacharite Brown, who works for the Natural History Museum, entered the bra design into this year’s Bras for a Cause, an annual event where local organizations submit decorative bras, which are auctioned off to the highest bidder. Lacharite Brown’s bra paid tribute to the Natural History Museum’s Pavilion of Wings exhibit, which allows visitors to walk through rooms full of butterflies.

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.

Friends help woman through breast cancer A luncheon for "Wonderful Women" was hosted by Glendale resident Lorraine Barajas Megowan, professor in language arts and humanities at Los Angeles Technical College. Megowan wanted to honor women who have significantly influenced her life, especially those who gave her moral support and spiritual guidance during her struggle with breast cancer. Many of those attending were from the Glendale, La Crescenta and La Canada Flintridge areas.

What is it worth to live an extra month, year or five years? Cancer patients, their families and oncologists face this question on a daily basis. Recent news reports of high-profile national figures battling cancer have renewed focus on cancer. And while many cancer patients whohave been fortunate to be treated with radiation and chemotherapy go into remission and continue to lead a productive and happy lives, many others face the bleak and painful prospect of dying prematurely due to the astronomical cost of drugs, lack of insurance coverage or financial resources.

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.

Family festival helps fight breast cancer The Kenneth Village Merchants Assn., in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, plans to present the 17th annual Kenneth Village Fall Festival from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday in the 1400 block of Kenneth Road in Glendale. The family event will feature trick-or-treating, pumpkin-decorating, face-painting, jumpers, a petting zoo and costume contest parades for youngsters and family pets. The event’s performances will include the internationally acclaimed Hoover High School Jazz Band along with drill and drum corps and marching bands from local schools.

Claudia Peschiutta TROPIC0 -- Most people think of Olivia Newton-John as an actress or a pop singer. But to a group of women at Glendale Memorial Hospital's Comprehensive Cancer Center on Wednesday, the performer became an inspiration and a friend. Newton-John met with about 20 women, most of them breast cancer survivors, at a kickoff to Sunday's "Life Run," a 5Krun/walk that will benefit the Glendale Heart and Comprehensive Cancer centers at the hospital.