ALBERTA CANCER FOUNDATION'S UNDERWEAR AFFAIRS RAISE $1.8 MILLION FOR CANCERS BELOW THE WAIST ACROSS THE PROVINCE
Saturday, June 18, 2011
By: The Edmonton Underwear Affair

3,073 participants strip down to shed light on cancers "down there"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Natasha MacDonald
Communications Coordinator
1-877-500-7551
nmacdonald@endcancer.ca

(June 18th, Edmonton): Clad in costumes, underwear and athletic gear, 1,623 runners and walkers took the streets of Edmonton by storm in the Alberta Cancer Foundation’s Underwear Affair, raising a grand total of $913,000. Last week, the 10k run/5k walk kicked off at the Max Bell Centre in Calgary, with 1,450 Calgarians. In total, $1.8 million was raised to support Alberta Cancer Foundation develop programs and support research into cancers such as prostate, colorectal, ovarian, bladder, cervical and testicular.

Too often deemed taboo, cancers that occur below the waist do not receive the level of awareness or funding required. Consequently, regular screening is often avoided even though it is a key element to early detection and prevention. The Underwear Affair aims to shed some light on these diseases and give them the much-needed attention they deserve. In Alberta, an astounding 33 per cent of all new cancer cases diagnosed each year are cancers below the waist, like ovarian, prostate and colorectal.

“A huge thanks to all the participants who ran and walked in this year’s Underwear Affair,” said Nicholas Locke, Chief Development Officer at the Alberta Cancer Foundation. “With the help of these 1,623 people, we are lifting the veil that surrounds these cancers. The support from the community has been so tremendous.”

Participant Sylvia Strang has learned first-hand how these cancers can touch close to home. “In 2009, my mother passed away from ovarian cancer,” she explains. “I run for her, and I run to raise awareness, in hopes that one day we will see a cancer-free future. This was my first time participating in the Underwear Affair, and the experience was just incredible.”

For more information or to join the 2012 Underwear Affair visit www.uncoverthecure.org.

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The Alberta Cancer Foundation is Alberta’s own, established to advance cancer research province-wide and directly support Alberta’s 17 cancer centres, including the Cross Cancer Institute and Tom Baker Cancer Centre.

The Alberta Cancer Foundation acts on the knowledge that a cancer-free future is achievable and that when we get there depends on the focus and energy we put to it today.