The Logan County Courthouse and fountain, along with several other public buildings, will be lighting up pink for the first time starting Friday and continuing through all of October as a public display of hope in honor and in memory of many local individuals who have been affected by breast cancer.
City resident Roni Lile has spearheaded the “B-Town Pink Out” effort to bring awareness to the disease that affects one out of eight U.S. women, or approximately 300,000 people per year, Mary Rutan Hospital officials report. It is also the second most common cancer diagnosed in women around the country.
These alarming statistics are true for Logan County. During the community’s most recent Needs Assessment administered in late 2020, breast cancer was identified as one of the leading types of cancer diagnosis for residents of Logan County, hospital officials said.
The “pink out” also will include the Bellefontaine City Building, Municipal Building, Logan County Colonial Building and the Logan County Sheriff’s Office.
Lile raised the funds herself to purchase flood lights, colored panels and other equipment to make this project possible, and also garnered approval from the county commissioners and city officials after presenting to them similar “light up” awareness initiatives undertaken in the surrounding counties.
To continue the “pink out” at area homes, pink light bulbs will be available for free during a giveaway at the Logan County Fairgrounds from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2 (donations also are encouraged and appreciated for the Logan County Cancer Society).
Thoughout October, Lile also is recruiting area restaurants and businesses to feature special Breast Cancer Awareness month promotions, with proceeds to benefit the Logan County Cancer Society.
A breast cancer survivor who received her diagnosis Sept. 19, 2019, Lile said she had a double mastectomy in October of 2019. She is prescribed a hormone-blocking pill, and now goes for check-ups with her oncologist once a year.
“The pink out, it’s not for me; I feel so fortunate in the course of my treatment,” she said.
“But I know too many people who have fought this disease and how much it has affected them. I also know people who are still fighting it, including some women who are fighting for their lives.
“We want this display to be a sign of hope and to let these individuals know we support them and are thinking of them on their most difficult days.”
Tuesday evening, a group of breast cancer survivors and their families gathered at the courthouse fountain to check out the first of the downtown areas to “go pink” — the courthouse fountain. Bellefontaine Mayor Ben Stahler and Logan County Commissioners Joe Antram, Paul Benedetti and Mark Robinson also presented a proclamation for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in support of this effort.
“The community reaching out to us, it’s really nice,” said Margaret Prater, who said she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2018. “This cancer thing, it’s really bad and affects so many people.”
The Bellefontaine resident said she had a double mastectomy, twice, with the second surgery conducted the following year in 2019 after cancerous cells were detected during radiation treatment. She now has been cancer-free since January.
Fellow city resident Nancy Reames said her diagnosis was very recent and she had surgery two weeks ago, so the gathering was quite meaningful to her.
“It’s been so nice to talk with others and receive advice from these women who have been through many of these treatments already,” she said. “They have navigated this path already, and I’m happy to know I can reach out to them for support.”
While some of the women were meeting for the first time, other breast cancer survivors found friends from long ago at the fountain as well. Preschool teacher April Pulfer of Bellefontaine said she and Riverside Schools English teacher Lucinda Fleming were next-door neighbors growing up.
Fleming received her diagnosis just before the 2021-22 school year began, and said she has completed two out of 16 chemotherapy treatments thus far. She has felt overwhelming support from her school district as well.
“The school has been absolutely amazing,” the 22-year Riverside teacher said, noting fundraisers that have taken place and band performances on her yard. “Our superintendent Scott Mann came into my classroom the other day and shaved his head, saying he wanted me to know that I wasn’t going through this alone.”
A number of the attendees noted the importance of regular mammograms and the potential that their lives were saved through this screening.
Janey Willis of Bellefontaine said her doctor discovered a lump in her breast during a physical exam, and she ended up having a mammogram that same day, later leading to a diagnosis of stage III breast cancer and a double mastectomy in 2019.
Lile said she was fortunate that her cancer was caught early with the aid of a mammogram.
“If I wouldn’t have kept my appointment that day, and had waited for six months, I would have had a much bigger issue,” she said, encouraging women to be advocates for themselves and speak up for what’s best for them in the course of their treatments as well.
Kelly Armstrong, Mary Rutan Hospital registered mammographer and certified breast patient navigator, said to detect breast cancer at its earliest stages she recommends all women “to have a clinical breast exam by a health care provider annually and do a monthly self-breast exam, looking and feeling for any changes.”
Any changes should be reported to your health care provider right away.
In addition, all women age 40 and over should get an annual mammogram. A mammogram can find breast cancer before it can be felt.
“Research has shown that women who skip a yearly mammogram may miss the opportunity for an early breast cancer diagnosis and treatment,” Armstrong noted.
When breast cancer is found at an early stage women have a 93 percent or higher survival rate in the first five years. The goal of yearly screening mammograms is to identify breast abnormalities as early as possible. If breast cancer is found early, there are more treatment options and better chance for survival.
Breast cancer can affect women of any age. It is more common in post-menopausal women, but about 25 percent of women diagnosed are younger than 50, hospital officials noted.
Continuing throughout this month while the buildings cast a pink glow, fundraisers continue in support of the Logan County Cancer Society, which offers financial assistance to Logan County residents with a cancer diagnosis and is administered by the Mary Rutan Foundation.
Pink ribbon window clings will available for $5 each. Breast Cancer Awareness Month specialty promotions of food items are planned at a number of locations, including City Sweets & Creamery, Don’s Downtown Diner, Brewfontaine (with an item created by Rise Bakehouse), Iron City Sports Bar and Bobbers at the Lake.
To schedule a mammogram, call Mary Rutan Hospital Crawfis Imaging Center at (937) 592-1883. A physician’s order is not needed to schedule a screening mammogram for women over 40.