October Is 'Breast Cancer Awareness Month'. How Can You Contribute To Spreading The Word and Making A Difference?
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October (and throughout the year), people wear pink ribbons to honor survivors, remember those lost to the disease, and to support the progress we are making together to defeat breast cancer
"Thanks to largely stable incidence rates, improved treatment, as well as earlier detection through screening and increased awareness, a woman's risk of dying of breast cancer dropped 39 percent between the late 1980s and 2015, translating into more than 300,000 breast cancer deaths avoided during that time.
Despite that progress, there's much more to be done. Breast cancer is still the second-leading cause of cancer death in women, second only to lung cancer. There is still a large racial gap in mortality, with African-American women having higher death rates compared to whites, even as incidence rates are similar."
The American Cancer Society's estimates for breast cancer in the United States for
2018 are:
*About 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
*About 63,960 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
*About 40,920 women will die from breast cancer.
*While black and white women get breast cancer at roughly the same rate, the mortality rate is 42% higher among black women than white women.
*At this time, there are more than 3.1 million people with a history of breast cancer in the United States. (This includes women still being treated and those who have completed treatment.)
- Numerous studies have confirmed that alcohol consumption increases the risk of breast cancer in women by about 7%-10% for each one drink of alcohol consumed per day on average. Women who have 2-3 alcoholic drinks per day have a 20 percent higher risk of breast cancer compared to non-drinkers.
- Obesity increases the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Risk is about 1.5 times higher in overweight women and about 2 times higher in obese women than in lean women.
- Growing evidence suggests that women who get regular physical activity have a 10%-25% lower risk of breast cancer compared to women who are inactive, with stronger evidence for postmenopausal than premenopausal women
- Limited but accumulating research indicates that smoking may slightly increase breast cancer risk, particularly long-term, heavy smoking and among women who start smoking before their first pregnancy.
**Breast cancer in men:
While breast cancer is largely a female disease, breast cancer does affect men. Around 350 men are diagnosed with the disease each year. Be sure that you and your husband know the signs and symptoms.
Find out more about breast cancer in men:
https://brea...st-cancer-men
*If you or someone you love are concerned about developing breast cancer, has been recently diagnosed, are going through treatment, or are trying to stay well after treatment, the American Cancer Society provides important information on these topics and more.
https://www....t-cancer.html
***How can you get involved this month (and any time of the year):
1- Self Exam
If you or someone close to you has been diagnosed with breast cancer, you’ll know it’s vital that women check their breasts regularly. But sadly, lots of women out there don’t check.
Find out more about the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and learn what changes to look for: https://brea...-your-breasts
2- Wear pink
'Wear it pink' is the biggest fundraising event of the year for the organization, ’Breast Cancer Now’, and it couldn’t be easier to join in. Whether you’ll be at work, school or in your community, all you need to do on Friday 19 October is wear pink and raise as much money as you can to help make life-saving research happen.
Find out more about wear it pink: https://www....44.1539623520
3- Tell your story
Act now and join the #55000Reasons campaign. The real experiences of the 55,000 people diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK – and their family and friends – represent real reasons why politicians should invest in breast cancer services.
Tell us how breast cancer has affected your life and we will share it with the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock MP, to make sure breast cancer services get the funding they need from NHS England.
*Tell your story: https://brea.../55000reasons
4- Donate and Fundraise
*Donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation
https://www.bcrf.org
(Other ways to give): https://www....her-ways-give
*Donate to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc:
https://www....areness-month
*Donate to the Susan G Komen Foundation
https://ww5....e/Donate.html
5- Remember someone you love
A Fund in Memory is a personal and very special online space, created by you in memory of your loved one. It gives you a page where friends and family can come together to share their fondest memories and raised money in your loved one’s name for breast cancer research.
6- Join the conversation
Look out for the various campaigns going on, not only throughout the month, but all year long. It just takes a few minutes to check on Facebook, Instagram ,and Twitter and share with your friends and family to help spread the word. One of the best things you can do is to be informed, as well as informing others. Working together to fight against this form of cancer (and all forms of cancer) is such an important part of prevention and helping to eventually eradicate this disease.
Be sure to keep our painting classes in mind for any fundraising event that you might wish to hold. Through the combination of our 160+ studios, Nation-wide, we've raised money for various breast cancer-related organizations, habitat for Humanity, countless pet shelters, natural disaster relief, St. Jude's Research hospital, and more! We're happy to work with you on raising money for your cause, as we like to give back to the community, in any way we can. You can read more about our 'Painting It Forward' program here: https://www....ng-it-forward
Check out our full calendar on the link below to see all of the classes we're offering throughout the next few weeks (and be sure to frequently check it, as we're constantly adding new classes and even some 'Painting It Forward' events, we'd love for you and your friends to attend! Remember, the more seats that we fill, the more money we can raise!
*Take a look at some of our spooktacular Halloween paintings, coming up: https://www....ghtpaintings-