FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 24, 2008
Contact: Brianna Downing (215.790.2421 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Jamie Arehart (267.350.7699 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation Granted the GSK Impact Award
PHILADELPHIA— On March 20, the Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation was
officially awarded one of the eight distinguished GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards
distributed this year. The Linda Creed Foundation, an affiliate of Philadelphia Health
Management Corporation, was awarded $40,000 in recognition for its dedication to
promoting breast health, fostering the healing process, establishing a public agenda for
prevention and cure, and for its significant impact on local communities.
The GlaxoSmithKline 11th Annual IMPACT Awards, held in the Greater Philadelphia
region and also in the United Kingdom, recognize the efforts of nonprofit organizations
working in community healthcare. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the world's leading
research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, grants up to a total of $400,000
to small and mid-size community-based health organizations that provide access to
healthcare for those underserved. “All of the winners are committed to the idea that
everyone should have better access to healthcare – that no one should be left behind,”
said Mary Linda Andrews, GSK Director, Community Partnerships.
Friends and family of Linda Creed, a Philadelphia songwriter who died of breast cancer
at the age of 37, founded the Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation in 1987 – the first
free-standing breast cancer organization in Pennsylvania. The Linda Creed Foundation
serves women who have little or no health insurance in Philadelphia and surrounding
counties. Donna Duncan, the foundation’s Executive Director, explains, “We fight breast
cancer through general and focused education, advocacy on state and national levels, and
by offering free mammograms and diagnostic tests to women with little or no medical
insurance who do not qualify for other programs.
According to the National Cancer Institute, more women in the United States are
living with breast cancer than any other cancer and breast cancer is among the most
commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide (second only to skin cancer).
Approximately 3 million women in the U.S. are living with breast cancer: about 2.3
million have been diagnosed with the disease and an estimated 1 million do not yet
know they have the disease. The National Cancer Institute estimates that a woman in
the United States has a 1 in 8 chance of developing invasive breast cancer during her
lifetime. This risk is up from 1 in 11 in 1975. Like GlaxoSmithKline, the Linda Creed Foundation will continue to address the disparity between those who have health
coverage and those do not.
Since the inception of the Linda Creed Foundation 21 years ago, more than 17
hospitals have participated in the foundation’s free mammography screening program.
With the help of hospital physicians and nurse practitioners who volunteer their time
to perform the clinical breast exams over 8,500 women have been screened. The
foundation also provides community businesses with the opportunity to sponsor
screenings for those who cannot afford them. The Linda Creed Foundation does not
receive government funding and provides its free mammograms and free breast health
education through funding from private sources and granting agencies, such as GSK
“We do not know the causes of breast cancer, nor do we know the cure. Until we do,
early detection is the first line of defense and offers the best prognosis for a longer life.
The services provided by Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation bridge the gap between
those who have medical insurance, or can afford yearly mammograms on their own, and
those that are self-supporting but cannot afford to purchase health coverage,” explains
Duncan. About 90% of the women served by the foundation have no medical insurance.
The next round of screenings for Spring 2008 will be held at Chester County Hospital,
Chestnut Hill Hospital, Frankford Hospital at Torresdale, Lower Bucks Hospital, Paoli
Hospital, and Temple University Hospital. Please call 215.564.3700 for details or
check online at www.phmc.org or http://www.lindacreed.org/.
For more details on the GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards, visit http://www.gsk-us.com
or call the GlaxoSmithKline Office of Community Partnerships at 215.751.5171. To
learn more about the Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation and women’s health in
Southeastern Pennsylvania, contact Brianna Downing at 215.790.2421 or
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
