Sue Schick: Fighting breast cancer, diabetes one event at a time

After hearing from two friends within days five years ago that each had been diagnosed with breast cancer, both of them mothers of three small children, Sue Schick, CEO of UnitedHealthcare's Pennsylvania and Delaware regions, came to appreciate the role of Susan G. Komen for the Cure in providing research, leadership and support services that helped her friends to win their battles.

“One called me on a Monday, and one called me on a Tuesday,” Schick says. “They were very good friends who lived … on opposite sides of the country. … I knew how prevalent breast cancer was,” yet that personal experience made her feel “I needed to get involved and give back.”

She immediately joined the board of Komen's Philadelphia affiliate upon taking her current position three years ago. Last year, she led the effort to launch the Susan G. Komen Kids for the Cure: UnitedHealthcare Dash to Make a Difference. With her organization's sponsorship, the 2012 inaugural event brought more than 300 children; this year's event, held on Mother's Day, signed up hundreds more.

Schick threw UnitedHealthcare's corporate support behind the production of a breast cancer awareness YouTube video featuring 136 current and former National Football League cheerleaders, eight of them breast cancer survivors, known as Team Ra-Ras. The organization donated 10 cents to Komen every time the video was viewed up to 1 million views, which happened within three weeks. In addition to that initial $100,000, UnitedHealthcare will donate an additional $50,000 when hits reach 5 million and 8 million, respectively. The effort is closing in on the 5 million mark, says Schick, 51, one 10 finalists for Modern Healthcare's 2013 Community Leadership Award.

Breast cancer is not the only health cause that has captured Schick's attention because of a personal connection. She serves on the executive council and board of directors of the Pennsylvania chapter of March of Dimes, inspired partly by her son's birth defect; now age 24, he was born without ears and with completely blocked ear canals, but after five surgeries, he has near-perfect hearing and has had external reconstruction. In the years since, she and her son have participated in the March of Dimes Walk together.

“There's always a way,” Schick says. “Me acting as an advocate made all the difference.” She adds that March of Dimes “does so much to support families.”

Schick also has twice served as Philadelphia-area regional chair of the corporate Walk to Cure Diabetes, an event sponsored by JDRF (formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), a nationwide event the raises money for research to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes. JDRF this year honored her at its annual fundraising gala, the Promise Ball, when 10 local children with type 1 diabetes created a glass sculpture as a tribute to her, which was auctioned off during the event.