Rock the Runway to Benefit Support Services for Women with Cancer
| LITTLE ROCK – A new event hosted by the Little Rock-based nonprofit Fighting Fancy will benefit support services for women with cancer.
Set for June 20, Rock the Runway is a New York-inspired runway show developed and chaired by Heather Mason Owens, breast cancer survivor and founder of Fighting Fancy, and Allyson Pittman, the daughter of UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Foundation board member and inflammatory breast cancer survivor Stacy Sells.
Rock the Runway, which will take place at Savoy 1620, 1620 Market Street, will feature the latest fashion trends from central Arkansas designers and boutiques. Little Rock Soirée is a presenting sponsor.
Proceeds will benefit Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), which will use its portion to enhance its programs for women with cancer, and Fighting Fancy, which will provide gift bags of personal care products for women who are being treated for cancer by a UAMS physician, in addition to other women experiencing cancer around the world.
“The compassion and dedication that Heather and Allyson have shown for women experiencing cancer is exceptional. The proceeds from this new event will greatly assist us in providing services through our Ford Patient Support Pavilion that will empower, assist and uplift women living with cancer,” said Peter Emanuel, M.D., Cancer Institute director.
Among the services offered at the Ford Patient Support Pavilion are social work support, educational material, computer access, a relaxation room, an interfaith chapel and a knitting group, along with a Wig and Hat Shop where each patient undergoing chemotherapy may receive a free wig and hats.
“We at Fighting Fancy are honored to work with the UAMS Cancer Institute. After being diagnosed with breast cancer at 28, I developed an overwhelming desire to help other young women experiencing cancer. That’s when Fighting Fancy was born. We are so happy now to share these bags with women receiving cancer treatment from UAMS physicians and to support the additional programs offered for women at the UAMS Cancer Institute,” Owens said.
Fighting Fancy gift bags include information about how to receive a free wig and hats from the Cancer Institute Ford Patient Support Pavilion; a necklace; binder for paper work; coupons; a head wrap; products to assist with chemotherapy-related symptoms, dry mouth-relieving product Biotene, Nioxin hair-thickening shampoo and topical pain reliever Biofreeze; Loreal lip gloss, various Burts Bees products; a makeup bag and items from Laura Mercier; OPI nail polish; Philosophy body wash; Queasy Pops for nausea; hair ties; and notes from local students. For information, visit www.fightingfancy.com.
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has more than 2,800 students and 790 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS’ Area Health Education Centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.