SIU Med School to Host 5th Annual Denim and Diamonds

The Breast Center at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine is hosting its fifth annual "Denim and Diamonds" fundraiser Saturday, October 11. The event will raise funds to help create the new SIU High Risk Screening Clinic for Women's Cancers, which will provide risk assessment and familial cancer risk counseling to women and their families who are at increased risk for developing women's cancers. Guests are encouraged to dress in either casual or formal attire for the event, which will begin at 7 p.m. at Garrett Aviation, 1200 Airport Drive, Springfield.

Tickets are $85 per person or $750 for a table of 10 and available by calling 217-545-2955. Major sponsors of this year's fundraiser are Bank of Springfield, Brandt Consolidated, Inc., Curtis Tillett and Rita Victor, Isringhausen Imports, Morgan Stanley, National City Bank and the SIU Cancer Institute.

The event will feature music and dancing by "The Casenotes" of Springfield, a dinner buffet by chef Michael Higgins of Maldaner's, and both a live and silent auction including elegant dinners, a vacation cabin in California, original art pieces (sculptures, pottery, watercolor paintings, commissioned portrait), cooking classes, jewelry, parties and gifts for children.

The Breast Center at SIU is an interdisciplinary clinic for women with breast disease. It provides women with a timely, accurate diagnosis and treatment plan - often all in one visit. The Breast Center has treated almost 350 women for breast cancer since it opened its doors more than five years ago.

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