Take a Bite Out of Cancer
Texas Tech Health El Paso, L&F Distributors and El Perro Grande Tequila Team Up to Help Fight Breast Cancer
Announcement kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month
This month, our Borderplex has another chance to “Take a Bite Out of Cancer.”
For the second year in a row, L&F Distributors has partnered with El Perro Grande Tequila for the benefit of Texas Tech Health El Paso’s early cancer detection campaign.
Using specialized sales promotions, L&F Distributors will contribute to the breast cancer awareness mini-campaign, “Take a Bite Out of Cancer,” which will raise money for breast cancer screenings. To make it work, L&F is donating $5 for every bottle sold during October toward this initiative.
In order to increase breast cancer awareness, our industry and retail partners throughout the city will be promoting the “Take a Bite Out of Cancer” campaign with sales displays at stores and drink specials at bars and restaurants There will be QR codes displayed at these same stores and events, allowing our community to donate.
The campaign is as special as the businesses supporting it because every dollar stays local for women who may not have the resources or access to screenings. Together, Texas Tech Health El Paso, L&F Distributors and El Perro Grande Tequila have a goal to raise $10,000, which will cover 54 mammograms that could save a life with early detection.
“We love our business and our community. The easiest way for us to raise awareness is to do what we love, and it’s honestly the best way to get people’s attention,” said Lisa Peisen, managing partner of L&F Distributors. “Our family lost my grandmother to breast cancer at the age of 50, before my siblings, cousins and I were able to meet her. This was before screenings were widely available. That’s why the most important part of this campaign is to raise awareness for breast cancer and screenings.”
The announcement coincides with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to highlight the benefits of early detection and prevention.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women and the most common cause of death from cancer among Hispanic women in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute.
“My grandmother had breast cancer and my mother, when I was 13 years old, was diagnosed with breast cancer as well. She is here today and very much in remission,” said Krystal Myrick, brand manager for El Perro Grande. “This is a disease that strikes many homes and early screening is one thing we can do to get ahead of this thing and beat cancer. Viva El Paso, viva Texas Tech Health El Paso and let’s ‘Take a Bite Out of Cancer.’”
The American Cancer Society reports that approximately 1 in 8 women will experience a breast cancer diagnosis. In the last decade, El Paso County has seen a rising trend in its breast cancer incidence rate, as indicated by National Cancer Institute data compiled by Healthy Paso del Norte. El Paso County has a breast cancer incidence rate of 106 cases per 100,000 women, which is lower than Texas’ overall rate of 113 per 100,000 women.
Cancer is often beatable if detected earlier enough, and breast cancer screenings play a pivotal role in treating and preventing cancer. In 2023, out of one group of 55 women screened by teams at Texas Tech Physicians El Paso with funds from the National Breast Cancer Foundation, 12 were referred for ultrasounds. Of those 12, two were diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer and were able to immediately begin treatment. In another group of 10, one was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer and began treatment.
Despite the impact early screening can have, screening rates remain low, especially among Hispanics and residents of low-income communities.
A History of Giving to Texas Tech Health El Paso
As Texas Tech Health El Paso champions, L&F Distributors has supported the university’s mission of closing gaps in health disparities and providing access to health care and education to residents of our Borderplex region.
L&F Distributors, under the ownership of the LaMantia family, have been longtime supporters of Texas Tech Health El Paso. In 2020, they collaborated with the university to introduce the Stars Scholarship Fund to support future health care professionals for the El Paso region, which has been historically underserved.
The LaMantia family and L&F Distributors played a pivotal role in providing a Hunt School of Nursing student with a complimentary one-year vehicle lease for a Nissan Kicks in 2021. L&F Distributors paid for the lease, allowing then-student Angela Lopez to focus on her studies. She graduated at the age of 19 and is serving the community as a nurse at El Paso Children’s Hospital.
About Texas Tech Health El Paso
Texas Tech Health El Paso is the only health sciences center on the U.S.-Mexico border and serves 108 counties in West Texas that have been historically underserved. It’s a designated Title V Hispanic-Serving Institution, preparing the next generation of health care heroes, 48% of whom identify as Hispanic and are often first-generation students.
Established as an independent university in 2013, Texas Tech Health El Paso is a proudly diverse and uniquely innovative destination for education and research.
With a mission of eliminating health care barriers and creating life-changing educational opportunities for Borderplex residents, Texas Tech Health El Paso has graduated over 2,400 doctors, nurses and researchers over the past decade, and will add dentists to its alumni beginning in 2025. For more information, visit ttuhscepimpact.org.