Awarded on: 1999-04-20
Odette Marcoux, Boucherville, Que.
Governor General's Caring Canadian Award
Over the years Odette Marcoux has supported a number of causes, including abused women, the fight against youth drug addiction and alcoholism and primarily, since 1994, breast cancer. For the Hôpital Saint-Luc she organized an event which raised $200,000 to finance the purchase of a mammary stereotaxis unit for early detection of breast cancer and for research. At the hospital, she provides psychological support and volunteer services for persons with cancer. Mrs. Marcoux often gives lectures on breast cancer to raise women's awareness and encourage them to take steps toward prevention, diagnosis and treatment.