National Cancer Survivors Day Scheduled for June 2, 1996

FRANKLIN, Tenn--On Sunday, June 2, 1996, more than 600 communitiesthroughout the United States will hold celebrations of life aspart of the ninth annual National Cancer Survivors Day. The eventrecognizes the country's more than 8 million cancer survivors(2% of the population) and serves as a platform to call attentionto the barriers that prevent many Americans from receiving state-of-the-artcancer treatment.

The event had its beginnings in Kansas City when cancer survivorRichard Bloch (co-founder of the tax service H&R Block) andhis wife, Annette, held their first Cancer Survivor Rally, toobtain media coverage that would demonstrate that a diagnosisof cancer is not an automatic death sentence.

Today, the event is presented by the nonprofit National CancerSurvivors Day Foundation, Richard and Annette Bloch, FoundingCo-Chairs, and is sponsored nationally by Coping magazine (a consumermagazine for people living with cancer), Glaxo Wellcome, JanssenPharmaceutica, and SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals.

For information about the Survivors Day celebration in local communities,contact local hospitals or call Cindy Phiffer, director of mediarelations, phone/fax: 615-848-0503.