What makes breast tissue normal and what turns that tissue into cancer?
That is the big question surrounding The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at IU Simon Cancer Center. The Komen Tissue Bank has received much needed publicity since being adopted as one of the Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee’s official programs.
Named Indy’s Super Cure, the goals of the initiative is to raise awareness and fundraise for the Komen Tissue Bank as well as increase the diversity of breast tissue donations.
“By finding a reason why people who don’t have cancer stay normal we were hoping that finding that answer would be able to differentiate cancer from normal, trace that and figure out why people have cancer,” said Dr. Monet Bowling, researcher at the IU Simon Cancer Center.
But, when patients who thought they were donating normal tissue developed breast cancer more answers were needed. To help find those answers, the patients donated more tissue after their diagnosis.
“That becomes an amazing specimen because we can look at the evolution of somebody who thinks that they’re normal,” added Bowling. “If a patient develops breast cancer then something was likely different.”
To find such critical answers is the reason women of all races are needed to donate breast tissue said Dr. Susan Clare, co-director of the Komen Tissue Bank.
By collecting specimens from all women, there isn’t a gap in any one group. However, there is a special need for minority participation. Out of 1,869 breast tissue donations, only 3.5 percent were African-American. During the weekend leading up to Super Bowl XLVI, Jan. 28 and 29, Indy’s Super Cure and the Komen Tissue Bank hope to collect 1,000 tissue donations. The goal is to increase minority donations as well. Interested donors are being asked to register on the website. Beginning the first week of January, emails will be sent to women with instructions on how to schedule an appointment during weekend before the game.
“It’s not that we don’t need Caucasian women because we do, but we definitely need to get other groups into the (tissue bank) so we can study particular questions in breast cancer research,” said Clare.
Clare noted that the attention from the Super Bowl Host Committee has been hugely important to the Komen Tissue Bank getting the word out.
“Money is one thing,” she said. ” But having women in the city who are so accomplished and well connected on our team, pushing for us, doing whatever they can to make sure this is a continued success, I can’t over emphasize how important that is.”
To register, visit www.komentissuebank.iu.edu.
