CORK Pink Week is fast approaching and organisers of the event are calling on people to get involved.

Almost €70,000 was raised at last year’s inaugural event, which went towards two High Resolution Reporting Workshop Stations and Software for advanced interpretation of mammograms. This equipment has helped both in the diagnosis and early treatment of cancer, and with providing important reassurance to women concerned about their health.

Miriam Healy and Sylvia McHenry launched Cork Pink Week, both having personal experiences of the disease.

This year the event, which runs from Friday, October 11 to Friday, 18 has two key events. The first is a business breakfast which will run at Collins Barracks on October 11 featuring guest speaker, EU Commissioner Phil Hogan.

Members of the Irish Defence Forces will provide a military-grade breakfast to the 350 attendees.

Commissioner Hogan will be in conversation with broadcaster and communications consultant Jonathan Healy on a number of key topics, including the impact of Brexit on Ireland and Europe.

The ticket-only event will raise funds for the Breast Care Unit at Cork University Hospital, which sees more than 30,000 patients every year.

The October 11 event is designed to raise funds for a new state-of-the-art ultrasound machine for the breast cancer unit at CUH.

Dr Josephine Barry, consultant radiologist at CUH, says, “Patients with breast cancer and breast problems will benefit enormously from the availability of this leading technology. The ultrasound equipment will help the CUH Cancer Centre of Excellence to improve diagnosis and monitoring of patients with breast disease.

“The equipment will specifically be used to support investigation and research into ground-breaking newer techniques and treatments”.

Tickets for the Cork Pink Week Business Breakfast are now on sale on eventbrite.

Meanwhile, the same weekend will also see Collins Barracks host the Pink Lunch on Sunday, October 13. That event was hosted in City Hall last year.

If you want tickets for the lunch email info@corkpinkweek.ie

But there are many other ways in which you can get involved too. For example, why not host your own fundraising event in aid of Cork Pink Week.

Last year saw a number of individuals and groups organise events — from coffee mornings, to pink days, information awareness events — even UCC campus turned pink and will do again this year.

‘Run with Ros’ participants dressed in pink for Cork Pink Week last year, raising €500, while members of Blackrock Hockey Club togged out in pink for one of their training sessions.

MORE ABOUT CORK PINK WEEK

Cork Pink Week is a community initiative set up by a group of Cork women who have been directly affected by Breast Cancer.

Their ambition is to bring individuals, businesses and communities together by way of realising specific goals — the first goal is to create greater awareness of the excellent cancer care services and facilities in the region, while also raising much-needed funds for diagnostic equipment for Cork University Hospital Breast Cancer Unit.

See https://www.corkpinkweek.ie/