• PHOTO BY JIMMY DE
• CANCER TAKES THE BODY BUT NOT THE SOUL : Breast cancer survivor Leslie Neely shows off her scar, which could have been a lot worse had she not had a mammogram that diagnosed her cancer early, in photographer Jimmy de’s image entitled “Battle Scars.”

This year, more than half a million Americans will die of cancer, which accounts for 23 percent of all U.S. deaths. Scarier still, about 1.5 million Americans will be diagnosed with new cases this year. You should know this. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, after all.

So what can you do about it? Well, get your mind back in the gutter. On Saturday, Oct. 24 at Traditional Tattoo, you can come to an awesome fundraising event that will feature live, nearly naked, painted models. If that’s not enough, there’ll also be delicious catered foods, amazing wines, and beautiful art, which will be auctioned to benefit the American Cancer Society (ACS). Meanwhile, the tattoo shop will also offer pink-ribbon breast-cancer tattoos that night ($60 to $80, depending on size) and donate half the proceeds to the ACS.

Who’s behind this event? Well, cancer survivors, natch!

One of the main organizers, Jessica Winstead, told me all about it: “Shad Perlich, the owner of all three Traditional Tattoo shops, is a cancer survivor himself and he also loves boobs, so I thought, ‘What a great location.’ Photographer Jimmy de has also lost a couple of loved ones to cancer and loves taking pictures of boobies, so I couldn’t ask for a better artist to showcase. I myself have huge boobs, and I’m fighting the cancer fight right now with a very close loved one, and because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it all makes sense. My goal is to raise $10,000 for the American Cancer Society.”

Leslie Neely is the model in the photo above. “I’m a Registered Nurse, and have been for 17 years. Despite knowing how to do self-exams, I did not find my breast cancer myself. It was detected on my first mammogram. Because I got the screening done, the cancer was found at an early stage, and I underwent a successful lumpectomy to remove it. I have just had my last round of chemo and will be starting radiation later this month. My doctor said that I have a greater than 95 percent chance of a cure.

• PAINT THE TOWN: Traditional Tattoo (956 Foothill Blvd. Suite C; 541-8282) will present an evening of food, fun, and fantastic art—including live nude models with nothing between their skin and your eyes save a thin layer of paint—on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 6 to 9 p.m. A suggested donation of $10 to $20 per person can be placed in the “tit jar” as you enter.

Caterer Michelle Adel Carroll also fought the “C” word and won.

“I’m a breast cancer survivor,” she said. “I opted to have my breast removed and have a reconstruction. One year later, the same thing in the other breast. I lost six friends and loved ones in one year to this silent killer. The pain of cancer touches many people in various ways. It afflicts the young, the old, the rich, and the poor. It doesn’t discriminate. It robs individuals of their dignity, lays waste to human bodies, and tears apart families. But it also makes the afflicted value the seemingly insignificant routine events of each day: the setting sun, dinner with loved ones, the changing autumn leaves. For most people living with cancer, each moment is precious and every breath is sacred.”

And a woman is more than her boobs. Spread the word.

Glen Starkey takes a beating and keeps on bleating. Contact him at [email protected].