UAB: Comprehensive Cancer Center

May 18, 2011

Joy, hope, camaraderie, faith and triumph over adversity will be on full display when cancer survivors, their families, friends and caregivers celebrate Survivors Day from 7 a.m. - noon on June 4, 2011, at Pepper Place Saturday Market, one of Birmingham’s best outdoor events at 2829 Second Ave. South.

Celebrating Life, part of the National Cancer Survivors Day, hosted by the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, and an all-star collaboration of cancer organizations, will unite cancer survivors, caregivers, family members, friends and health-care professionals to show that life after a diagnosis can be meaningful and productive. A survivor is anyone living with a history of cancer, from diagnosis through the remainder of life.  At the free event, survivors can meet each other and spend time with area’s farmers and vendors who base their livelihoods on healthy living.

“National Cancer Survivors Day is an opportunity to truly celebrate our cancer survivors who are living life,” says Dr. Edward Partridge, Director of the UAB Cancer Center and President of the American Cancer Society. “It’s an opportunity to honor the commitment that so many patients, families, friends and caregivers made to fight.”

This festive event will feature live music and cooking demonstrations, as well as a host of hands-on activity centers for educational opportunities, nutritional programs, children’s activities, and art and massage therapies.  

Joining this year’s celebration will be John Scalici, an internationally recognized drum circle facilitator and speaker.  Scalici will lead Survivors Day participants in the DrumSTRONG program, a unique, multicultural, musical, charity event that helps showcase regional and national resources that support people with cancer and those who love them. Proceeds from DrumSTRONG will benefit the Celebrating Life event. Other performers include:  Zumba with Jerri and Jen, Sing for the Cure, Cooking with Dr. Luis Pineda and Chef Antony Osborne, Red Mountain Theatre Company singers, singer Sarah Ferguson, and Alex Swader – Dancers Fighting Cancer. 

Celebrating Life hosts include the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, UAB Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, UAB Center for Palliative Care and Supportive Care, American Cancer Society, Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, Bo Johnson Charitable Foundation, Deep South Network for Cancer Control, Laura Crandall Brown Ovarian Cancer Foundation, Norma Livingston Ovarian Cancer Foundation, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Live Strong, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and Wheeling For Hope.

Sponsors include UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, UAB Medicine, UAB School of Medicine, UAB Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Alabama’s 13, Virginia College, Get Rhythm!, VSA Alabama, Culinard, and Pepper Place Saturday Market.

National Cancer Survivors Day is Saturday, June 4.  This 24th annual, worldwide celebration of life will be held in hundreds of communities throughout the United States, Canada and other participating countries. Cancer survivors, caregivers, family members, friends and health-care professionals will unite to show that life after a diagnosis can be meaningful and productive.

The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center is among the 40 cancer centers in the nation to meet the stringent criteria for the National Cancer Institute's comprehensive designation. The center is a leader in groundbreaking research, reducing cancer disparities and leading-edge patient care.