Cop from Elgin only police officer among “Real Men Wear Pink” ambassadors
Ask Elgin Police Cmdr. Jim Bisceglie how he became the only cop — alongside a hockey player, a former NFL player, businessmen, doctors and a host of other men — named Chicago-area ambassadors in the fight against breast cancer, and he will tell you, unequivocally, that it's not about him.
“I don't want to get credit for it. It's everything we've done at the police department,” Bisceglie said. “It's about having the support of the police department that supports this cause, and letting the community know that we're there for them no matter what they are going through.”
Bisceglie is among about 70 ambassadors for the “Real Men Wear Pink of Greater Chicagoland” campaign by the American Cancer Society this month. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. He was nominated by an American Cancer Society staff member aware of his work in Elgin.
Last year, the Elgin Police Department debuted a pink-wrapped patrol car — the wrap is donated by Ultra Strobe and Eby Graphics in Crystal Lake — for the month of October, and Bisceglie coordinated efforts to take the car to community events to spread awareness about the battle against breast cancer. He also raised money for the cause through the sale of T-shirts.
The “Real Men Wear Pink” ambassadors are community leaders who are stepping up and getting involved in the fight against breast cancer, said Chicago-area campaign manager Kendall Schaffner.
Other local ambassadors are Chicago Blackhawks player Chad Krys; former NFL player and “The Bachelorette” contestant Clay Harbor; John H. Idler, president and general manager of ABC 7 Chicago; Fred from the “Fred and Angi” show on 103.5 FM radio; and Michael Barkin, co-founder of the clothing company Stitch & Heart. The latter three also are co-chairs of the initiative.
The men commit to raising at least $2,500 each for the cause and wearing pink every day in October. For Bisceglie, that means wearing his pink badge on the job — all Elgin police officers have optional pink badge this month — and breast cancer T-shirts on his days off. The top four local ambassadors already have raised more than $10,000 each as part of about $108,000 altogether as of Friday. “Every dollar that is raised will help save lives,” Schaffner said.
The money raised goes to early detection and prevention, innovative research and patient support, as well as to American Cancer Society initiatives like free rides to treatment and free or discounted lodging for out-of-town patients, she said.
About 1 in 8 women, or 13%, will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their lifetime and 1 in 39, or 3%, will die from it, according to the American Cancer Society. An estimated 268,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women and about 2,670 cases will be diagnosed in men this year.
Breast cancer has affected his own family, Bisceglie said. His mother-in-law is a breast cancer survivor — he will never forget his wife-to-be breaking the news to him when they were in college — as are other extended family members, he said.
One special moment last year was meeting women affected by breast cancer at the Taylor Family YMCA in Elgin, he said.
“Everybody goes through hard times in their life, and every disease is impactful for everybody,” he said. “To have a group of people who have been survivors, and some are still going through it, to see how emotional they were and us bringing awareness to it ... it was really neat.”
To help Bisceglie raise money to fight breast cancer you can visit his “Real Men Wear Pink” page at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jbisceglie.
To have the Elgin police's pink patrol car visit you or your family, contact Bisceglie at (847) 289-2602.