Your Dollars Make a Difference in the Fight Against Breast Cancer

In 2018, we invested $1 million in the fight against breast cancer

6,754 New Jersey women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.

2,402 New Jersey women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at a late stage.

For U.S. women ages 20–59, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death.

These statistics are unacceptable, and with your help, we are working to change them. Susan G. Komen Central and South Jersey (Komen CSNJ) aims to provide breast cancer care and services to those who need them the most in central and southern New Jersey. Your generosity and support are helping us make an impact — and you are bringing us one step closer to our vision of a world without breast cancer.

In 2018, Komen CSNJ invested $1 million in the fight against breast cancer. Nearly $600,000 were awarded in community grants to ten local nonprofits. These grants were made through the our Community Grants program, which annually funds projects to help meet the most critical breast cancer needs in our 13-county service area.

The programs primarily target low-income, uninsured individuals who do not have access to vital health care services. Many programs target minority populations in addition to other hard-to-reach groups, including migrant outreach workers, those with mental illness and those who are traditionally difficult to motivate to obtain routine medical care.

Maria Clark is one of our 2018–2019 grantees — Clark Family Breast Cancer Services, Inc. Through our funds, Clark Family Breast Cancer Services, Inc. provides breast health workshops and referrals for screening mammograms to women, ages 40 and over, in Camden, Burlington and Gloucester Counties.

This year, these funds made a local impact:

• 154 community members provided with diagnostic tests
• 7675 community members educated on breast cancer risk
• 575 community members provided with transportation assistance
• 102 community members provided with financial assistance for out-of-pocket costs
• 900 community members provided with screening mammograms administered + 985 provided with screening referrals

In addition to funding our Community Grants program, Komen CSNJ has invested $25,000 in the Susan G. Komen Treatment Assistance Fund. This program provides financial assistance, education and support services to low-income, under-insured and uninsured breast cancer patients throughout central and southern New Jersey.

Nicole Aiello represents our Research mission pillar at our 2018 MORE THAN PINK Walk. Dr. Aiello is a post-doctoral fellow at Princeton University in Komen Scholar Dr. Yibin Kang’s lab.

We are committed to providing funds for national breast cancer research initiatives, too. This year, we invested $275,000 in breast cancer research for new technologies and novel treatments.

Research is one of our best weapons against breast cancer. Over the past 30 years, it’s fueled our knowledge of breast cancer and helped us understand that breast cancer is not just a single disease but many diseases, unique to each individual. We see that work being done with Komen Scholar Dr. Yibin Kang, who is working with his team at neighboring Princeton University to study breast cancer metastasis.

The funds that support these life-saving programs and research are raised through the efforts of community supporters like you who participate in our annual special events and fundraisers. Thanks to our fundraisers and donors, our 2018 MORE THAN PINK Walk raised over $619,314 for the fight against breast cancer — an incredible amount that will help us reach more women and men in our community next year.

At Susan G. Komen Central and South Jersey, your donation makes a difference in the lives of local women and men in need of breast cancer services, and helps move breast cancer research forward. To make a life-saving donation this holiday season, please visit www.komencsnj.org/give