For the tenth year running, Eugene Platt will buy over $1000 worth of Breast Cancer Research stamps at the James Island Post Office to honor his wife, Mary, who died of the disease in March 2003. This year, on Monday, October 1, at 11 a.m., Postal officials will welcome him as he kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month with his annual purchase.

Platt’s 2012 purchase will be 3,366 of the 55-cent semipostal stamps ($1,851.30), bringing his all-time total to over $13,000. The total number of stamps he has bought over the last decade is 25,406. He uses them exclusively, and has donated many to his church, the Hollings Cancer Center, and the Wilderness Awareness School.

The Breast Cancer Research stamp, America’s first semipostal stamp, was issued in1998. The cost includes First-Class postage and 11 cents (tax deductible) that is donated to research. Currently, the Breast Cancer Research stamp sells for $0.55; sheets of 20 are $11.00.

Since ’98, 933 million of the stamps have sold, raising $75.2 million for research for the National Institutes of Health. They are available at your Post Office and online at The Postal Store or by calling 1-800-STAMP-24 (1-800-782-6724).

Photo: Eugene Platt and his wife, Mary.

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