County Executive James T. Smith Jr.
400 Washington Avenue
Old Courthouse Mezzanine
Towson, Maryland 21204
410-887-2450
E-mail Address: jimsmith@co.ba.md.us
Dear Friends of Baltimore County,
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month throughout the United States. Breast cancer can be a terrifying disease. One in eight women will be diagnosed with some form of breast cancer during her lifetime and in 2006, over 212,290 new cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed among women in the United States. But this month is not about fear, it is about hope.
The best treatments for breast cancer ever available exist today, and the chances for survival of breast cancer are better today than they have ever been. The five-year survival rate for women with breast cancer is 87 percent and most of these women go on to lead full, healthy lives free from the disease.
The chances for survival increase the earlier the cancer is detected. The best way to detect breast cancer is through routine mammograms, clinical breast exams, and self-breast exams. Through regular scheduling of these simple, but effective, methods, women and their doctors can catch breast cancer in its earliest stages. We want to educate all women about the steps they should take for early detection and treatment.
Recently I joined the Baltimore County Commission for Women to turn the Courthouse Plaza Fountain pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For the month of October this fountain will serve as both a reminder and a symbol of hope—a reminder to women to schedule regular mammograms and both clinical and self-breast examinations—and a symbol of hope to those who today are facing the daunting diagnosis of breast cancer because progress is being made!
Also, throughout the month of October, the Old Courthouse will be illuminated in the pink signature color of Breast Cancer Awareness Month as a further reminder of the importance of early detection, treatment, and breast cancer education and as a symbol of our determination to find the cure.
Our promise to find a cure for breast cancer is a pledge—to our mothers, our wives, our sisters, our daughters, our friends, our co-workers, and our neighbors—that some day soon, fear of breast cancer will be unknown.
James T. Smith, Jr.
Baltimore County Executive
Revised November 14, 2006
Courthouse 