STATE INCOME TAX CHECK-OFF
FOR BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FEATURED
Pat Halpin-Murphy, president and founder of the
Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition (PBCC), announced
a press conference to kick off this year’s
Income Tax Check-Off for Breast and Cervical Cancer
Research. The press conference will be Friday,
March 28, at 3 p.m. in the College’s Heilman
Center, room 112. The Heilman Center is located
on the College’s North Campus past Henry
and Gladys Arnold Field.
In addition to Halpin-Murphy, featured speakers
include Representative Katie True, Pennsylvania
House of Representatives, 41st District; Dr. Mary
K. Howett, professor of microbiology and immunology,
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center; M.
Patrice Massey, a two-time breast cancer survivor
and an independent insurance agent representing
AFLAC Insurance; and, Deborah Freer ’71,
a breast cancer survivor and volunteer with numerous
organizations including the Lebanon American Cancer
Board, PBCC, WITF and Good Samaritan Hospital.
Dr. Stephen MacDonald, LVC vice president for
academic affairs and dean of the faculty, will
welcome the PBCC.
The Breast and Cervical Cancer Research Fund,
landmark legislation initiated by the PBCC in
1997, allows Pennsylvania taxpayers to donate
all or part of their state tax refund to breast
and cervical cancer research. All of the money
raised goes to cancer researchers, hospitals and
universities in Pennsylvania. The average tax
refund donation is $8 and to date, over $1 million
has been raised. Halpin-Murphy, a breast cancer
survivor, said, “Every single penny of the
money raised is awarded to researchers across
the state. The PBCC is a force for women and their
families and the incredible success of this simple
and effective way to raise research dollars renews
our commitment to find a cure for breast cancer
now … so our daughters won’t have
to.”
Halpin-Murphy chairs the Pennsylvania Department
of Health’s Cancer Advisory Board’s
Income Tax Check-Off Committee, which recommends
how the refund donations should be awarded to
researchers.
The PBCC, founded in 1993, is a non-profit organization
dedicated to ending the breast cancer epidemic
through research, education, outreach and advocacy.
As the only statewide grassroots organization
that speaks to and for breast cancer survivors,
the PBCC ensured the passage of several crucial
pieces of commonwealth legislation:
The Breast and Cervical Cancer Research Act, which
allows taxpayers to donate all or part of their
state income tax refunds to breast and cervical
cancer research; and
The Breast Cancer Reconstructive Surgery Act,
which mandates insurance coverage for post- mastectomy
breast reconstruction and prohibits outpatient
mastectomies.
The PBCC serves each of the commonwealth’s
67 counties through the Income Tax Check-Off,
Mother’s Day Mammograms®, the Keystone
Breast Cancer Conference, and the photo exhibit,
“67 Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer
in Pennsylvania.”
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