Pin-A-Sister™/Examinate Comadre™ is a breast cancer awareness campaign to educate and engage women in taking control of their breast health that was launched in 2007 by Access Community Health Network. ACCESS, the nation’s largest network of federally qualified health centers, operates more than 50 community health center locations in underserved, low-income neighborhoods throughout the Chicago region, providing care to 200,000 individuals each year.
The campaign’s hallmark event, “Pin-A-Sister Sunday™,” builds on more than a decade of faith outreach and early detection services organized by ACCESS. Each Mother’s Day, Pin-A-Sister Sunday™/Domingo de Examínate Comadre™ is held at African-American and Hispanic houses of worship across Illinois, throughout the nation and globally. Houses of worship may also designate another day to hold a pinning ceremony. On this day, designated Pin-A-Sister™/Examinate Comadre™ coordinators pin a cancer survivor from the congregation (or an advocate for early detection in the absence of a survivor) with a message of hope and empowerment:

• The entire congregation is invited to symbolize their individual commitment by pinning of a pink ribbon on all willing members of the congregation.
• The Pin-A-Sister™/Examinate Comadre™ message is also echoed from the pulpit and in the congregation's print materials.

In 2006, the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force released an arresting statistic—more African-American women in Chicago are dying of breast cancer than white women, even though breast cancer prevalence among African-American women is lower. A recent update shows that this trend has only gotten worse.
The causes of this racial health disparity are many and require further study, but at least one call to action stands out as a clear and immediate imperative. If African-American women are to have an equal chance of survival, the word must get out that screening and treatment are imperative. As Chicago is both an economically and ethnically diverse community, we know that other minorities who are affected by the same health disparities need to also be reached. For example, while no Hispanic data currently exists, we know that Hispanic women are also affected.