Plans are under way for the Regional Medical Center Foundation's fifth annual Pink Ribbon Luncheon, set for 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, at The Cinema in Orangeburg. More than 350 patrons are anticipated for the event, which is being presented by the Junior Service League of Orangeburg and will feature a gourmet lunch provided by Buck Ridge Catering.

Author Beth Webb Hart will be featured speaker.

Hart, a South Carolina native, holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from Hollins College and a master's degree in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Her first novel, "Grace at Low Tide," was one of three finalists for the 2006 Christy Awards in the general/contemporary/fiction category. Her second novel, "Adelaide Piper," was selecte for Books-a-Million's book club and for its national book of the month for December 2006. Both titles were included in the "Top 10 Inspirational Novels of 2006" by Booklist, the American Library Association's review journal. Her third novel, "The Wedding Machine," became a best-seller in August 2008.

Hart serves on the faculty of the South Carolina Writers Workshop and lectures on the craft of fiction writing throughout the region. She has taught on the college, high school and intermediate level, where she received two national awards from Scholastic Inc. She currently serves as the writer-in-residence at Ashley Hall.

More than 178,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are predicted to occur among women in the United States this year, in addition to 62,000 new cases of in situ (non-invasive) breast cancer. In South Carolina, breast cancer accounts for approximately one-third of all cancer diagnoses -- thought to have been almost 3,000 cases in the state last year. This year, some 4,200 breast exams will be performed at RMC's Breast Health Center. Already, 45 of those tests have proven positive. This does not include ultrasound tests.

Prior to 2005, no money had been raised through the RMC devoted expressly to the fight against breast cancer. That has changed significantly.

In the fall of 2005, the RMC Foundation offered the first Pink Ribbon event, which would grow into a series of annual programs aimed at increasing awareness of issues surrounding breast cancer and the need for early detection measures. Proceeds from the events, called Pink Ribbon Luncheons, provide support to patients at the hospital who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer and those in medical and financial need during their journey and fight against the disease.

The first Pink Ribbon event netted some $20,000. Subsequent events and gifts have increased total contributions to the Foundation's Pink Ribbon Fund to some $188,000 in less than five years.

This year's Pink Ribbon Luncheon is chaired by Foundation Trustee Gail Gressette, and vice chair is Celia Richardson. Preparations for the 2009 Pink Ribbon Luncheon are being overseen by a committee of 31 local volunteers.

The cost of the Pink Ribbon Luncheon is $55 per person, and the event has been sold out the past three years. Proceeds from the luncheon will support women's cancer services at the RMC and its Breast Health Center and will also fund the "Bag of H.O.P.E." -- hope, opportunity, promise and empowerment -- which is presented to newly diagnosed breast cancer patients at the hospital.

For more information or to make reservations, call the RMC Foundation office at 803-395-2321.

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