ANNUAL FEMALE MUSICIANS FIGHTING BREAST CANCER BENEFIT

(Buffalo, NY) It‘s been 17 consecutive years, since Ida Goeckel, a local female bass player, and two time breast cancer survivor, founded and organized the first annual Female Musicians Fighting Breast Cancer Benefit in 2003. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s event was cancelled. The 18th Annual Female Musicians Fighting Breast Cancer Benefit Redux returns once again to raise awareness and funds for the Women’s Resource Center, the go-to support and information center on the grounds of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. This resource center, specifically for women affected by breast or gynecological cancers, provides a central location to find reliable information about cancer diagnosis, treatment, clinical trials, and survivorship. Patients and their support network can then learn to make informed and confident choices and become better equipped to take an active role in their care.

The event will occur on Halloween Sunday October 31st, 2021 at The Sportsmen’s Tavern at 326 Amherst St., Buffalo, N.Y. Doors will open at 1:00 p.m. with four local music artists, generously donating their time to perform from 1:30-5:30.p.m.

This year we are proud to showcase the veteran indie female musicians who have been an integral part of the WNY music scene for decades. As always, it will be another amazing gathering of some of the best live music you will see/hear anywhere. First up will be the ever classy and talented Maria Sebastian, who was recently inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame’s class of 2021. She will be followed by the equally talented Alex Lynne & Co. making her comeback to the stage! Our third featured group, an amazing local staple, will be the kickass Alison Pipitone Band! Finally,the show will culminate with the TLC Trio, featuring the combined talents of Theresa Quinn, Cathy Carfagna, and Leah Zicari, all of whom are forces on their own merit!

Prizes generously donated by local merchants and individuals will be in a basket raffle throughout the show, and there will be at least one 50/50 split as well. Admission to witness all this talent under one roof is just $10.00 both pre-sale and at the door. There will be a cash bar and fine food served at the venue to enhance the experience.

This fundraiser, sanctioned by the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation and Team Roswell, donates 100% of the proceeds to Roswell Park’s Women’s Resource Center, located at the Scott Bieler Clinical Sciences Building on Carlton St. in Buffalo, N.Y.
Please be advised that this event will follow the CDC recommended COVID-19 precautions, and we ask that you be mindful that some attendees are immunosuppressed.

This is the original music benefit to raise Breast Cancer Awareness and has spawned similar events locally. The mission of this benefit is dedicated to the active self-advocacy, informed choice, and empowerment of breast cancer patients/survivors. Breast Cancer is the fifth leading cause of death in US women (only heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and respiratory disease exceed breast cancer). Approximately 250,000 women will be diagnosed and approximately 40,000 women die each year from breast cancer. In Erie and Niagara Counties, respectively, 139.4 and 138.0 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed per year, per 100,000 women. The statewide average is 127.7 while the U.S. average is 119.8.
The good news, however, is that breast cancer death rates are either stable or falling in every WNY county, as it is in New York State and the entire country. With greater concentration on pinpointing its cause and developing a cure through research, perhaps the next generation will no longer needlessly have to be concerned about the risk of breast cancer.

In the meantime, it is important that those who have been diagnosed receive the compassionate care and treatment that Roswell has to offer, as well as arm themselves with the available up-to-date information at Roswell Park’s Women’s Resource Center. The entire community is invited to support this worthy cause.

For further information contact the FMFBC benefit founder and organizer, Ms. Goeckel, at: [email protected] or [email protected] and be sure to visit us on the website www.fmfbc.com , as well as at www.facebook.com/FemaleMusiciansFightingBreastCancer.