Orlando Health Cancer Center Kicks off “Pink October” with Annual Hope Hike

ORLANDO, FL. (October 1, 2015) – “Pink October” is officially here! This morning, Orlando Health Cancer Center kicks off National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with its annual Hope Hike from Orlando City Hall, where Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, Orange County Commissioner Pete Clarke and other elected officials will proclaim the month as “Pink October.” Hundreds of Hope Hikers will then head the 1.2 miles down Orange Avenue to Orlando Health Cancer Center escorted by the Orlando Police Department’s pink patrol car.

Around Central Florida: Hope Hikes at other Orlando Health hospitals in Seminole and Orange counties will unite the community, elected officials, oncologists, breast cancer patients, survivors and their families in the fight against breast cancer. 

• 10am: Health Central Hospital, the Hike will begin in the hospital’s atrium and continue through Ocoee, crossing State Road 50 to the Orlando Health Cancer Center facility. 
• Noon: Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, participants will hike through the halls of the hospital, visiting cancer treatment areas. 
• 1pm: South Seminole Hospital, team members and members of the community will hike from the hospital located on SR 434 to Longwood City Hall.

Local statistics: Already this year, 7,000 new cancer patients have walked through the doors of Orlando Health Cancer Center. About 500 of them have had breast cancer. In 2015, it’s estimated that 15,000 Floridians will be diagnosed with the disease. Orlando Health Cancer Center remains at the forefront of cancer care in Central Florida. So far this year, the cancer center has logged 67,000 total visits to its oncology clinics, and continues to add new services to meet the needs of the community and its patients. Last month the cancer center opened its Cancer Genetics Center for high-risk patients and those with a genetic link to breast cancer. In 2016, Orlando Health Cancer Center will open its Proton Therapy Center, which will house Central Florida’s first proton therapy center and bring a revolutionary new radiation treatment to cancer patient.

National statistics: Breast cancer is the second most-common type of cancer among women in the United States. This year, nearly 232,000 American women will be diagnosed with the disease. The odds of a woman being diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime are one in eight. Every three minutes a new case of breast cancer is diagnosed, and every 13 minutes a woman dies from breast cancer. However, with early diagnosis, breast cancer has a cure rate better than 90%. 

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About Orlando Health

Orlando Health is a $2.1 billion not-for-profit health care organization and a community-based network of physician practices, hospitals, and outpatient care centers throughout Central Florida. The organization is home to the area’s only Level One Trauma Centers for adults and pediatrics and is a statutory teaching hospital system that offers both specialty and community hospitals. More than 2,000 physicians have privileges at Orlando Health, which is also one of the area’s largest employers with more than 15,000 employees who serve nearly 2 million Central Florida residents and more than 4,500 international patients annually.  Additionally, Orlando Health provides more than $270 million in support of community health needs.  More information can be found at www.orlandohealth.com.

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