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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2015)
Page 6 October 14, 2015 New Prices Effective May 1, 2014 Martin Cleaning Service Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Residential & Commercial Services Minimum Service CHG. $45.00 A small distance/travel charge may be applied CARPET CLEANING 2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 Each Area Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: 1 small Hallway) 1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.00 Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area (Hallway Extra) Stairs (12-16 stairs - With Other Services) : $25.00 Area/Oriental Rugs: $25.00 Minimum Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool) : $40.00 Minimum Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $10.00 each area (Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying) UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Sofa: $69.00 Loveseat: $49.00 Sectional: $109 - $139 Chair or Recliner: $25 - $49 Throw Pillows (With Other Services) : $5.00 ADDITIONAL SERVICES • Area & Oriental Rug Cleaning • Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning • Deodorizing & Pet Odor Treatment • Spot & Stain Removal Service • Scotchguard Protection • Minor Water Damage Services SEE CURRENT FLYER FOR ADDITIONAL PRICES & SERVICES Call for Appointment (503) 281-3949 O PINION Breast Cancer Awareness and Saving Lives Options and access improve outcomes m arC h. m orial Breast cancer is the most common can- cer among women in the United States. It strikes blindly, touch- ing women of all racial and ethnic groups. But while race is not a risk factor for breast can- cer, black and Hispanic women— who are less likely to get breast cancer than white women—are dying from the devastating dis- ease at higher rates. To save thousands more lives, we must continue to make strides and improvements in prevention, diagnosis and treatment, while comprehensively addressing the stunning health disparities that consign so many women of color to preventable deaths. The wide disparity in deaths and survival rates (Black women have a five-year survival rate of 77 percent in comparison to 90 percent for white women) can be attributed to a variety of factors— ranging from biology to access to by quality health care. According to the Black Wom- en’s Health Imperative, breast cancer tends to appear in black women at a younger age and in more advanced forms. Women of color are more likely to be diagnosed with more aggressive cancers and later stage breast can- cers. Because, historically, black women have been less likely to get regular mammograms, their cancers are more likely to be advanced when they are finally diagnosed. This is why screening, and screening early, matters. While screening can neither eliminate nor undo the design of biology, the earlier you can detect and begin to treat breast cancer, the lower your risk of dying. Women of color—particularly black women who are 40 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than white women—need access to quality preventative measures like mammograms to reduce their risk. State and private programs that provide low to no-cost mammo- grams for women have helped closed the gap between the health insurance haves and have-nots. Through the Affordable Care Act, obstacles to regular screenings have practically been eliminated for all women. Under the ACA, most health insurers are required to cover recommended preven- tative services—including mam- mograms—at no out-of-pocket cost. Despite the increase in access to screening, women of color also tend to get follow-up care later than white women. Black women often experience follow-up times of over 60 days after a receiving an abnormal mammogram result. When time is of the essence, wait- ing for follow-up care may lead to the cancer becoming more aggres- sive and it may increase its spread in the body. Low-income and uninsured women in the 21 states that re- fused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act are less likely to have breast and cervi- cal cancer screenings than other women. Expanding Medicare in those states could mean the differ- ence between finding early stage cancer when it’s more easily treat- able and finding it after it becomes life threatening. Treatment is another area where disparities are potential- ly costing us lives. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 69 percent of black women start treatment within 30 days of receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer, com- pared to the 83 percent of white women who begin within 30 days. Black women are also less likely to receive (or are resistant to receiving), certain surgeries, radiation and hormone therapies. Whiles strides are being made in medical care women of color must be educated about their op- tions and have access—from care to treatment—to improve their outcomes. Think about this: nearly 1,800 fewer black women would die of breast cancer if death rates were the same as white women, accord- ing to the CDC. That’s 1,800 more birthdays, weddings and gradua- tions we could all be celebrating today. We know what to do, but know- ing is only half the battle. Sign up for a mammogram today or en- courage all the women you know and love to make that potentially life-saving appointment. Marc H. Morial is president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League. The Doctrine of Discovery and Junípero Serra Spanish friar hailed and pilloried r ev . e lizabeth l eung During his recent visit to the United States, Pope Francis pronounced the 18th century Spanish friar, Junípero Serra a “saint.” Serra built the first nine of a 21 missions system across California that served as religious and military outpost for assimilating Indige- nous populations to European cul- ture and Christianity. On the day of canonization Californian American Indians, de- scendants of the survivors of the mission system, led by the Ohlone/ Costanoan-Esselen Nation of the greater Monterey County on whose ancestral lands the Carmel Mission stands, called for a day of mourn- ing, prayer and truth-telling. Since early 2015, numerous Indigenous nations and Native American organizations had called on the Pope to reverse the process of canonization, to no avail. In his speech for Serra’s canonization, the Pope said that “it is difficult to judge the past by the criteria of by the present.” I think The Atlantic rightly asked “Is the Pope trying to redeem colonialism?” Junípero Serra has been both hailed and pilloried as the Co- lumbus of Califor- nia. In recent years many have come to understand the legacy of the 15th century underlies both of these stories and provides theological and le- gal support for brutal coloniza- tion like Columbus’ in the 15th century, the violent evangelism of Serra’s mission system in the 18th century, and the continuing dispossession of Indigenous peo- ples into the 21st century. It is the Christian Doctrine of Discovery and its legacy lives on in federal Since early 2015, numerous Indigenous nations and Native American organizations had called on the Pope to reverse the process of canonization, to no avail. Spanish explorer Christopher Co- lumbus, who landed in the Carib- bean, in a new light. Columbus enslaved and tor- tured Indigenous people in the quest for land and gold. People who support Serra’s canonization say that, unlike Columbus, Serra modeled his life on the gospel of love and actually protected the California Indians from the mili- tary authorities. A common value and rationale and international laws concerning the rights of Indigenous peoples. The concept of discovery rest- ed on the belief by Christian ex- plorers that land throughout the Americas was empty prior to European arrival, and its inhab- itants were less than human. For well-intentioned missionaries like Serra, their devotion to evangeli- zation motivated them to convert native communities to Christian- ity in accordance with the values of European nations. But Serra’s mission systems also resulted in the decimation of the Indigenous population. Such was the human cost of doing good with the back- ing of imperial power. Serra’s canonization also rein- forces a U.S. conquest version of history that ignores the complex Mexican history of California. In the words of Jacqueline Hidalgo, a Professor of Latina/o Studies and Religion at Williams Col- lege, by elevating Serra the Pope effectively “doubly whitewashed colonial Christianity by smooth- ing over the crimes Serra and his fellow Franciscans committed in the name of the good and by pro- mulgating a European immigrant as the saintly representative of a Spanish-speaking [Hispanic] pop- ulation in the U.S. that is by no means exclusively European.” Surely we can judge the pres- ent canonization according to the criteria of a just and intercultural vision that we seek for our future. Let us face our colonizing histo- ries in this continent and refuse to wash over the injustices of the past which continue to echo today. The Rev. Elizabeth Leung is minister for racial justice in the United Church of Christ.