Thousands of women are expected to descend on the Sharonville Convention Center on Friday, Oct. 9, from 3 to 6 p.m. for the Go Pink Women's Wellness Expo, a free event pairing breast cancer screenings with shopping, makeovers and prize giveaways. The gathering will mix free health screenings and mammogram resources with mental health support, financial wellness information, and Medicare and Medicaid education, all under one roof.
The expo is being organized by Local 12, whose female anchors will host the event and bring live news coverage to the floor. According to the station, the expo is designed to bring together thousands of women in the Cincinnati area for a single afternoon of health resources, entertainment and community connection.
Attendees can expect more than just clinical information. The event includes cooking demonstrations and tastings, wine and entertainment, and local boutiques offering shopping and product samples, alongside beauty, skincare and anti-aging demonstrations. Guests will also be able to snag complimentary mini makeovers and skincare consultations while browsing the floor.
Prizes, Photo Ops and Expert Speakers Round Out the Day
For those hoping to walk away with more than a goodie bag, the expo offers hourly prize drawings throughout the afternoon. Greater Cincinnati businesses are contributing items to a Pink Prize Wall that the same report says will feature gifts, beauty products, gift cards, experiences and other surprises. Attendees can also visit the Go Pink photo wall and take part in Pink Party Bingo, while expert speakers and women's health and wellness experts offer guidance on topics ranging from caregiving to disease prevention.
Businesses interested in setting up a booth or securing a sponsorship can contact Lauren McCarroll at Local 12, who can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 513-376-0426.
Why Sharonville Is Hosting Cincinnati's Biggest Gatherings
The choice of venue is no accident. The Sharonville Convention Center completed a $24 million expansion in January 2024 that created the 40,000-square-foot Todd Portune Hall, doubling its main exhibition space, according to Movers & Makers. That upgrade allowed northern Hamilton County to host major events requiring between 20,000 and 50,000 square feet of floor space.
The timing matters, too. Sharonville has served as Hamilton County's primary large flexible event space during the roughly $200 million renovation and temporary closure of downtown Cincinnati's Duke Energy Convention Center, which began in 2024, as reported by WVXU. That closure left a temporary gap in regional convention capacity that Sharonville has been filling for civic and community gatherings alike, including this year's NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner and the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit held during Cincy Climate Week.
State Law and National Guidelines Push Screening Access Forward
The expo's focus on mammograms and breast cancer awareness resources arrives amid real shifts in screening access and guidance. Under Ohio House Bill 371, enacted in September 2022, state law requires private health insurers and Medicaid to cover annual 3D mammograms and supplemental screenings for women with dense breast tissue or elevated risk factors, according to UC Health. Before that law passed, many women faced out-of-pocket costs or insurer denials for 3D mammography and follow-up MRI or ultrasound exams.
Ohio lawmakers introduced further legislation in May 2025, House Bill 271, known as the Breast Examination and Screening Transformation (BEST) Act, which would prohibit cost-sharing copayments or deductibles for supplemental breast cancer screenings and diagnostic exams across insurance plans and Medicaid, per BillTrack50. The bill would also broaden covered diagnostic options to include molecular imaging and contrast mammography. Nationally, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force finalized updated guidelines in April 2024 recommending that all women begin biennial mammograms starting at age 40 rather than 50, adjusting its recommended starting age in response to rising breast cancer incidence rates among women in their 40s.
Disparities in Diagnosis Underscore the Stakes
The push for accessible screening carries added weight given persistent racial disparities in outcomes. The American Cancer Society's 2024 statement on screening guidelines found that Black women in the United States are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than White women and are more frequently diagnosed with aggressive tumors at younger ages, despite similar overall screening rates across racial groups.
Statewide, Ohio recorded an age-adjusted female breast cancer incidence rate of 134.3 cases per 100,000 women between 2017 and 2021, ranking 25th highest among U.S. states, according to a 2025 statistical report cited by Becker's Oncology. That figure sits slightly above the national average of 131.8 cases per 100,000 women recorded over the same period. Public health statistics from the CDC and American Cancer Society show that when breast cancer is caught early in a localized stage, the five-year relative survival rate reaches 99%, underscoring why early detection efforts like the Go Pink expo carry such significance for regional health outcomes.
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