Breast Cancer Action E-Alert for California

Hello! This is a special BCA e-alert for our California members. There are some great upcoming opportunities to do something, besides worry, about breast cancer. Welcome to any new e-alert members! If you think you've been added by mistake, please follow the directions at the bottom of this email to unsubscribe.

SPREAD THE WORD - if you like this e-alert, please help us by sharing it with your friends and family. Forward this message and let them know that they can subscribe at http://www.bcaction.org/ealert

WE PUBLISH A SNAIL MAIL NEWSLETTER TOO - We just can't get enough of you ...and hope that you can't get enough of us! If you're not already on our mailing list we'd love to send you our bimonthly newsletter, the BCA Source, filled with information on treatment, diagnosis, politics, and true prevention updates. Check out the archives and subscribe online at http://www.bcaction.org/newsletter

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1. TAKE ACTION: Educate and Advocate for Universal Health Care; Attend the Environmental Health Legislative Education Days; Support Breast Cancer Research in California

Educate and Advocate for Health Care Reform

Thanks to all of you who supported Senator Kuehl’s Universal Health Care bill last year. With your help, we sent this important bill to the Governor’s desk. Unfortunately, he vetoed it. The good news is that many of our leaders are seriously looking at health care reform this year, and they are debating what the best solution will be.

Health care is an important women’s issue, and we should be included in this conversation. Our families and communities will be affected by health care reforms our legislators decide on. Come learn about the different solutions being proposed, and how you can make your voice heard in this important discussion!

You don’t need to be an expert on health care to become involved. At the forums, you will be provided with the background information and training you need to be an effective advocate. Some opportunities to advocate for Health Care Reform in California include:

Women LEAD Forum - San Diego
April 17, 2007 from 10am - 2 pm
Jacobs Center at Market Creek Plaza
5160 Federal Blvd. San Diego, CA

You will learn about different proposals our California leaders are putting forth to improve health care, and you will learn why health care reform is a women’s issue. Registration is FREE, but RSVP is required. RSVP by April 6 to Allison Young at ayoung [at] bcaction.org or (415) 243-9301 x13.

Women’s Health Summit – San Francisco
Universal Health Care is a Women’s Issue
May 10, 2007 from 9:30 am - 3 pm
First Unitarian Universalist Church
1187 Franklin St. San Francisco, CA

Join us for a Women’s Health Summit on why universal health care is a women’s issue. Tangerine Brigham, Deputy Director of Health at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, will be the keynote speaker. Ysabel Duron (KRON 4), will moderate a women’s panel including Aileen Hernandez (California Women’s Agenda), Dr. Bree Johnston (UCSF Department of Geriatrics), Sara Rogers (Office of Senator Sheila Kuehl), and Mary Smith (Community Member). Registration $20. Light breakfast and lunch included. (No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.) To register, contact the UCSF Women’s Health Resource Center at (415) 353-2667.

Women LEAD For Health – State Capitol
May 16, 2007 from 10am - 2 pm
Sacramento Grand Ballroom
629 J St Sacramento, CA

Join us for Women Leadership Education and Advocacy Day. We invite you to speak to your legislators about health care in a supportive environment with other women who share your concerns. You will hear from Senator Patty Berg, Chair of the Women’s Caucus, about why women’s voices are crucial in the health care debate. You will receive advocacy training, then team with other women to meet with legislators. Registration is FREE, but RSVP is required. Limited scholarships are available for travel. RSVP by May 1 to Allison Young at ayoung [at] bcaction.org or (415) 243-9301 x13


Attend the Environmental Health Legislative Education Days, May 22-23, Sacramento, CA

The Environmental Health Legislative Education Days are held each spring in Sacramento to educate the legislature on current air, toxics, water, and pesticide issues, and to advocate for current environmental health legislation. The legislative education days provide an opportunity for community activists from around the state to join together and bring their environmental health concerns to their elected officials. They are also a great opportunity for people to learn more about how the legislative process works and how we can all take part in that process. May 22 will be a day of advocacy training, and May 23 will be a day for meeting with legislators. Travel scholarships may be available. Please contact Pauli Ojea at pojea [at] bcaction.org or (415) 243-9301 x11 if you would like to attend.

Contribute to the California Breast Cancer Research Program this Tax Season

There is an easy way to support breast cancer research in California--and it doesn't include buying something pink! Simply select the CA Breast Cancer Research Fund on line 55 of your California State Income Tax Form 540. Your tax deductible contribution will help support innovative research for preventing, detecting and treating breast cancer. Previous tax check-off contributions have helped support research on:

- Environmental toxins that potentially cause cancer
- Earlier detection methods such as optical detectors or blood tests
- Reliable predictors of aggressive disease
- Better support networks for socially or geographically isolated women

For more information about the Tax Check-off program, or to see what other innovative research has been funded through this program, visit the California Breast Cancer Research Program website at http://www.endbreastcancer.org

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2. SAVE THE DATE: BCA Talk on the Politics of Cancer, April 7, Poplar; BCA Talk on the Politics of Cancer, April 24, Monterey

The Politics of Breast Cancer (In Spanish)
Saturday April 7, 2007, 2:00 pm
Poplar Park Youth Center
14656 Road 192
Poplar, CA 93258

Join Brenda Salgado, Program Manager of BCA, for a talk on breast cancer advocacy and the politics of breast cancer. This presentation will be given in Spanish. For more information contact Brenda Salgado at bsalgado [at] bcaction.org or (415) 243-9301 x14

From Illness to Activism: The Politics of Breast Cancer
Tuesday, April 24, 6:00 pm
California State University--Monterey Bay
100 Campus Center
Bldg. 29
Seaside, CA 93955

Join Brenda Salgado, Program Manager of BCA, for a talk on breast cancer advocacy and the politics of breast cancer. For more information contact Gabriela Orantes at Gabriela_Orantes [at] csumb.edu


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That's it for this edition! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments about this e-alert.

Thanks for your continued support of BCA. Until next time,

Pauli Ojea, Community Organizer
Toll free at 877-2STOPBC (278-6722)
http://www.bcaction.org
http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org

Our members are the driving force behind our efforts to end the breast
cancer epidemic. Because Breast Cancer Action does not accept funding from
the government or the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, we need
your support. You can donate online at
http://bcaction.org/Pages/SupportUs/Donate.html, or call 415-243-9301, or
toll-free at 1-877-278-6722. All gifts are deeply appreciated.


Breast Cancer Action is funded in part by a grant from the California Wellness Foundation (TCWF). Created in 1992 as an independent, private foundation, TCWF's mission is to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention programs.