It's About Breast Cancer!

It's about breast cancer. IT'S ABOUT BREAST CANCER!

Steven Covey likes to remind people to "keep the main thing the main thing." And the main thing for the Susan G. Komen foundation is breast cancer -- finding a cure, promoting diagnosis, and enabling treatment. They are about saving lives. More than two million breast cancer survivors are alive today in the United States. I know a bunch of them. I'll bet you do too. A big reason why they are alive is the research, screenings and treatment support which is the work of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

How ironic that the "Respect for Life Apostolate" of our Roman Catholic diocese has put their crosshairs on Susan G. Komen. It is a tragically misdirected aim.

I know a little bit about what Komen funds because my wife is the director of the Community Clinic at St. Francis House. The Clinic is our area's largest clinic for uninsured and underinsured medical patients. Last year the Komen for the Cure funded $70,000 to help underwrite services such as educational breast services, mammograms, biopsies, and mastectomies for 412 women who otherwise might not have afforded such care. Komen gave $100,000 to the Tree of Life Clinic of Mercy Hospital that is now become part of the system my wife administers under the new name Community Clinic Rogers Medical. Those facilities are just two of sixteen local services that received $738,233 from our local Komen affiliate to help combat breast cancer.

Not one penny went to anything other than breast cancer related work. It's all about breast cancer.

But our Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock has told their Arkansas parishes and schools not to support or participate in activities that benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Catholic parishes and schools have been instructed not to raise any money, and St. Joseph Church in Tontitown will no longer welcome the pasta party fund raiser that they have hosted for nine years on the night before the Race for the Cure.

Why would a group called "Respect for Life" undermine the largest non-governmental charity for breast cancer survival? According to their announcement, it's for three reasons, all based on bad information. The diocese accuses Komen of supporting abortion facilities, endorsing embryonic stem cell research, and denying an alleged link between abortion and breast cancer.

Their real target is Planned Parenthood. None of the Arkansas Komen affiliates give a penny to Planned Parenthood, nor does the national organization. But in a few locations, 19 of the 119 affiliates nationwide make grants to Planned Parenthood for breast health care services only, often in locations where Planned Parenthood is the only place where low-income women can receive breast cancer screenings. Nevertheless, no Komen money goes to any abortion related services anywhere. It's all about breast cancer.

Twenty-five percent of all local Komen funds go to their national office to underwrite research for a cure to breast cancer. Komen has never funded any grant involving human embryonic stem cells, only adult stem cell research. Stem cell research is among the most promising in our struggle to save lives from cancer and other life-threatening conditions.

Finally, there is no persuasive evidence linking breast cancer and abortion. That's according to the National Cancer Institute, which is the principal agency for cancer research and training in the U.S. Their findings are backed up by studies by the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists and by a major Harvard study in the spring, 2007.

I respect the Catholic Church's religious position on abortion, but they have taken issue with the wrong organization.

This is the Little Rock Komen affiliate's 15th Anniversary and our Ozark Komen affiliate's 10'th. This is a time to congratulate them and to thank them for the $7.5 million they have raised to save people from breast cancer. The Catholic Diocese should be thanking Komen for nearly $1.7 million dollars that has been given to support breast cancer programs in Catholic hospitals in Arkansas. Jesus once scolded some other religious leaders who couldn't see the good because of their narrow focus, "You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!" (Matthew 22:24)

We need to have Respect for Life, especially for the living, breathing human beings who live with cancer and are fighting for their lives. Respect for Life means supporting life-giving breast cancer research that holds hope for a future cure.

The best thing we can do is make this the most successful ever Komen Race for the Cure. Register for the April 19 Race online at http://www.komenozark.org, or at the Northwest Arkansas Mall, April 9-12, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at their location across from Talbots. You can get in at the last minute; sign up 6:00-7:30 a.m. at the race location at the new Arvest Baseball Stadium in Springdale. 5K Race is at 8:00; I like the Fun Walk at 8:30. And when the new location for the April 18 Friday night Pasta Party is announced, make it a point to go.

Keep the main thing the main thing. Whether it is education, screenings, treatment, research or support -- with Komen for the Cure, it's about breast cancer. That's all.