KENNESAW - There were tears, hugs, laughter and greetings Wednesday afternoon as the American Cancer Society's Pink Ribbon Classic kicked off this year's fundraising efforts with a sponsor's lunch at Carrabba's Italian Grill in Kennesaw.

This is the 12th year for the Classic, a women's golf tournament that raises money for the American Cancer Society. Last year's tournament raised $70,000, tournament committee member Gail Johnson said.

The luncheon was sponsored by State Rep. Sharon Cooper, and Carrabba's opened exclusively for the Classic crowd of about 40 men and women.

The tournament was cofounded by State Rep. Judy Manning (R-Marietta) and late Marietta Mayor Ansley Meaders, said Ginger King, a co-chair of this year's Classic.

"For those of you who don't know, the men are our caddies," King said, garnering laughs.

Three of this year's four honorees, Allison Gruehn, her sister, Catherine Sanders and Paige Pushkin, shared their stories of how the cancer affected their lives, as did keynote speaker Kaedy Kiely, radio host for 97.1 The River.

Judy Humphries, the fourth honoree, was unable to attend.

Gruehn said she was eight months pregnant with her daughter, Cate, in July 2005 when doctors told her she had Stage 3 breast cancer. When her sister later found out through genetic testing that she carried the same gene as Gruehn that has a high probability of causing cancer, Sanders decided to become a "previvor."

"After watching my sister valiantly beat cancer to the punch and finding out that I, too, carried the BRCA1 gene, I decided to beat cancer to the punch," Sanders said. Sanders had both a hysterectomy and double mastectomy to avoid developing cancer.

"Breast cancer research has allowed me to have the best gift of all, granting me the earliest detection possible," Sanders said.

Pushkin, 37, said she found a lump in her breast last summer, but her doctor told her he didn't feel anything.

"I don't say that to say anything bad about doctors, but to encourage everyone to be your own advocates, because I pushed him to send me for a mammogram and it turned out I had Stage 2A breast cancer," Pushkin said.

Pushkin finished radiation on Feb. 12 and did not have to undergo chemotherapy. But she said the most difficult part for her is that she cannot have children without significantly raising her risk of a recurrence.

"Estrogen is what fed my cancer before, so they really encouraged me to never get pregnant and have children. Through it all, that is really the hardest thing to deal with," Pushkin said.

Pushkin encouraged attendees to donate to the American Cancer Society, so that both a cure - and the cause of cancer - can eventually be found.

"I have no family history, did all of the things I was supposed to, and yet I still developed cancer and no one knows why. We have to find out how it can develop so that we can prevent it," Pushkin said.

Kiely shared a humorous tale about her discovery that she had breast cancer.

"Two years ago, my teeth really hurt and the pain wouldn't go away, so I went to my dentist, the same one I've gone to forever, who knows how old he is, and he performed a root canal, did everything he could but nothing seemed to be working," she said.

"So one day I was in the shower, and I found a lump, and I just knew. I had just had a clear report from my gynecological visit a few days before, so I called their office and talked to a female receptionist and told her all about how they performed a breast exam on me but I found a lump - and she didn't say anything. That's when I realized I had called my old dentist's office and not my gynecologist," Kiely said to a room full of laughter. "She probably thought, when did he start doing breast exams?"

Kiely golfed in last year's tournament, and will do so again on Oct. 4 at the City Club in Marietta.

"The American Cancer Society provides so much. One of the best experiences I had was attending one of their free Look Good, Feel Better classes, where a room full of women going through many of the same trials I was going through were there to help each other put on makeup, talk about their experiences, and it was just an amazing, bonding experience," Kiely said.

On Oct. 3, a preview party and auction will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the PGA Tour Superstore in Kennesaw. Retired WSB-TV sports anchor Chuck Dowdle will serve as the celebrity auctioneer.

To sign up for the tournament, become a sponsor, donate items or honor a loved one with a balloon dedication, visit www.pinkribbongolf.org or call Kim Fendya with the American Cancer Society at (770) 429-0089.