Surf City goes pink to help fight breast cancer

Photo by Ryan Morrill
Pink ribbons line Long Beach Boulevard in Surf City.

To help raise awareness for the prevention of breast cancer, Surf City has once again teamed up with Meridian Health for its annual Paint the Town Pink Campaign. Residents and passersby in the borough, which is known as Surf Pink during the month of May, have certainly noticed the many pink ribbons along Long Beach Boulevard, the different businesses that are decorated in pink and the giant pink banner hanging outside the municipal building. The visual cues are a way to remind women about the importance of getting an annual mammogram.

“These wonderful pink displays are dual purpose. Not only do they add a fun element to the town, but they serve as a visual reminder for women to ‘think pink,’ and by that, we mean to think about their breast health,” said Surf City Patrolwoman Sarah Roe, who initially brought the campaign to Long Beach Island three years ago. “Unfortunately, statistics show that about one in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, and in 2016, an estimated 246,660 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S.”

The campaign’s main goal is to encourage women ages 40 and older to have a mammogram every year. The month-long event helps raise funds for Meridian’s Pink Fund, which is used to provide free mammography screenings to women in need.

“In 2015 alone, participating communities and businesses in Ocean and Monmouth counties raised over $67,000 for the Pink Funds, and this year, we hope to raise as much or more,” said Roe.

Those in need of a mammogram who cannot afford one can contact a representative at Southern Ocean Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center, Jersey Shore University Medical Center (Jersey Shore Imaging), Riverview Medical Center or Bayshore Community Hospital.

For more information on fundraising events in Surf City and other participating communities, visit paintthetownpink.com.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.