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County designates local "Check Your Cherries" breast-cancer awareness day; commissioners urge research and screening
Summary
The board adopted a resolution honoring community advocate Hale Bo and designating an October awareness day called "Check Your Cherries," with local speakers urging screening and further research after county data showed elevated early breast-cancer incidence in the 2016–2021 CDC county profile.
The Grand Traverse County Board voted to adopt a resolution designating an October awareness day titled "Check Your Cherries" to honor the late Hale Bo and to promote breast-cancer awareness and early detection.
Sarah Cashel, who identified herself as Holly Bird's sister and co-presenter of the resolution, and Michelle Bostic spoke in support of the measure. Cashel cited CDC county-by-county incidence data for 2016–2021 and told the board Grand Traverse County showed a higher-than-average rate of early breast-cancer diagnoses among women around age 50 in that dataset. Bostic described personal experience with friends and family and urged the board to pair awareness with community-supported research into local trends, noting a local epidemiologist's work and references to Michigan State University and Munson Health system collaborations.
County Health Officer Mike Leahy said the health department has recently written a letter of support to the Cancer Research Consortium of Western Michigan to advocate for more cancer clinical trials and noted the county health department has an epidemiologist who could collaborate on data review and outreach. Commissioners and staff discussed the limits of the cited dataset (2016–2021), the need for up-to-date analysis, and the importance of pairing awareness with research and funding.
Commissioner Andrews moved to adopt the resolution; the board approved it by voice vote. The resolution, as presented, does not require county spending but establishes a framework for community outreach, awareness, and coordination with health providers and researchers.
