PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Moms and Daughters
Team 813
Revlon Walk for Cancer
Contacts: Eileen Keusseyan Tel: 818-404-5686
Alice Chakrian Tel: 818-388-6734
Armenian Moms & Daughters to Join Revlon Walk for Cancer
Women are Urged to Register for May 7 Event in Los Angeles
(Los Angeles, April 2005) – Alice Chakrian is walking in memory of her
mother-in-law, who died last year of breast cancer. Lucy Gulvartian
for heraunt, another breast cancer casualty. Tamar Mahshigian for her
close friend, Elaine, a breast cancer survivor.
Armenian women are being called upon to register in large numbers for
this year’s Revlon Run/Walk for Women, to be held Saturday, May 7,
just before Mother’ s Day, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The
cost to participate is a $25 donation. Registration online is at
;eid=3D293631
`We all have our community work – helping our school, church,
organizations. But this walk to raise money for cancer research is
such an important cause, one that touches every woman, regardless of
ethnicity or religious affiliation. So we thought that it would be a
fantastic idea to join our strength as Armenian women and walk
together for this very emotional cause,’ says Eileen Keusseyan,
co-captain of Team 813, Armenian Moms & Daughters. `Ultimately, we
would like to see this become an annual event for Armenian women,
growing larger and stronger.’
This year alone more than 211,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed
with breast cancer, more than 22,200 will be diagnosed with ovarian
cancer and more than 57,200 will be diagnosed with other women’s
cancers. More than 69,300 will lose their lives to these deadly
diseases.
The Revlon Run/Walk for Women was launched by the Entertainment
Industry Foundation in 1993 and since then has raised an impressive
$32 million to help fund innovative cancer research, counseling and
outreach programs.
Last year, more than 50,000 women, men and children participated in
the 3.1-mile run/walk. `The first time I joined I felt the power of
unity among people with the same inner pain that I felt when my
mother-in-law, Arshalouse Chakrian, was diagnosed with breast cancer,’
says Team 813 co-captain Alice Chakrian, who has registered to walk
with her 10-year-old daughter, Rita. `The Revlon Walk became the
beginning of the healing of my pain because I felt I was making a
difference by contributing to help find a cure.’
`Each year I participate in the Revlon Run/Walk for Cancer researchI
am filled with greater hope and faith that we can make a difference
for future generations,’ says Lucy Gulvartian, who will walk with her
10-year-old daughter, Lar.
One person who lives with hope and faith is Lucy Hagopian.
`Congratulations dear Eileen and Alice. You have created a venue for
the Armenian woman and our community to merge forces in a vision for a
cancer-free society. As a woman who has survived a first encounter
with breast cancer almost 20 years ago, and a second threat in 1999, I
want to speak about hope,’ says Hagopian.
`When I was given the statistics, I did not know where I would end
up. I felt that it was no use thinking about all that so I focused on
health and thoughts of well being. I found comfort, a source of
strength and hope in The Scriptures, especially in the healings of
Christ and in the Psalms. I askedthe Lord for healing. Medicine and
doctors would do their part, I had to do mine, and Nature, which is
sacred, would take its course. And here I am today.â=80=9D
Hagopian provides a few tips on staying healthy.
1. Start your mammograms early; don’t wait until you’re 35. `I was
only 31 when I was first diagnosed,’ says Hagopian. `I have a
mammogram once a year.’
2. Make sure to include an array of naturally colorful foods in your
diet: greens, reds, orange, purple, yellow, and everything in
between. Remember to have your greens and grains regularly.
3. Find a form of exercise that you can live with, even if it’s
walking around your neighborhood three times a week and going
somewhere in nature on weekends.
4. Find a source of spiritual strength. `Reading inspirational
material has been a great help to me,’ Hagopian recommends.
For those who would like to join the Armenian Moms & Daughters team,
registration can be done online at (be
sure to put Team 813 on your registration). Donations can be made by
going to the Team 813 page on the Revlon Run Walk website and clicking
on a registrant’s name.For registration forms that can be printed and
mailed in, go to
For further information about Team 813 Armenian Moms & Daughters,
please contact Eileen Keusseyan at 818-404-5686 and Alice Chakrian at
818-388-6734.