What do you think of during the month of October? Most would answer goblins and ghouls, Snickers and jawbreakers, or black and orange. According to cancer.org, 11, 638 women across the world are currently diagnosed with breast cancer and 2.5 million are survivors. To this group of women Halloween doesn't even cross their minds. These women are occupied with thoughts of determination, survival and the color pink.
This October Brest Cancer Awareness will be celebrating its 25th anniversary. According to nbcam.org, Breast Cancer Awareness Month started in 1984 when the founding members on the Board of Sponsors, the American Academy of Family Physicians, AstraZeneca Healthcare Foundation and Cancer Care, Inc. hosted a week-long event. At this event they distributed brochures, spoke to news reporters and testified before a U.S. Congressional committee about the desperate need for nation-wide access to mammography.
The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month organization is no different today. It is still embodied by numerous national public service organizations, professional medical associations, and government agencies. Together they have partnered to raise breast cancer awareness and to spread information about access to free breast cancer screening services.
The NBCAM website lists several events taking place in the United States this October to help promote breast cancer awareness.
The Many Faces of Breast Cancer is just one of the many fundraisers being held. It is taking place in five different locations across the US: Chicago, Seattle, Houston, St. Louis, and Atlanta. The Many Faces of Breast Cancer has made it their mission to educate women about the risks they are facing, providing information and creating support groups for those that have been unfortunately diagnosed with breast cancer. Also, a selection of medical experts will be present to confront the ones who have survived this awful disease. They will advise on the issues of psychosocial needs, nutrition and diet, recurrence and the latest treatment research.
Another popularly recognized event is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. This event is split into two different locations this year in Austin, Texas and San Diego, Calif. According to komen.org the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is the largest series of 5K runs/fitness walks in the world. It has successfully pulled in over one million participants since 2005. The Komen Race for the Cure Series raises significant funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. The race also celebrates breast cancer survivorship, and honors those who have lost their battle with the disease.
The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is a significant event because in 1990 it is where the first pink ribbon was spotted. That year the race was held in Washington D.C. and the foundation handed out pink visors randomly to the participants. Some of the 8,529 walkers wore pink ribbons. The next year, at the race in New York, the foundation instead handed out pink ribbons to the participants. From then on the pink ribbon has become the official symbol of breast cancer.
Events are being organized to help promote breast cancer awareness all around the globe, but University of the Cumberlands has put in their helping hand as well. At the football game against West Virginia Tech, on Oct. 24, 2009, the coaching staff from UC wore pink arm bands while the players had an assortment of pink accessories; from pink athletic tape to pink shoelaces. The cheerleaders at UC have also teamed up with the school's Health Education Committee to help promote breast cancer awareness and the 12th annual Lee's National Denim Day. According to denimday.com, Denim Day participants are asked to wear jeans to work on Oct. 2.
According to cancer.org every 1 in 8 women (12.6 percent) will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Breast cancer is defined by the National Breast Cancer Foundation as a disease that is made up of malignant cells that form in the tissue of the breast.
Stephanie Hamilton, a breast cancer survivor from London, Ky. was 36 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was Nov. 2002 when Hamilton, in the shower, discovered a lump under her left armpit.
"I was only in pain that one day" she said. "I was taking Advil every four to six hours."
Hamilton had thoughts in the back of her mind screaming breast cancer, so she thought it best to go to a medical expert to find answers. The doctor brushed the lump off as a calcified node that would have to be removed.
"No big." she thought. Her doctors scheduled her biopsy for Feb. 10, 2003. Once waking up from the surgery Hamilton was informed that her lump was indeed cancerous and she did have a strand of breast cancer.
"The sheer shock was indescribable." she explained. "It wasn't a hormone-based cancer like most breast cancers are," she said. "The key phrase for me was it was aggressive." Her doctors recommended that she have a mastectomy and breast reconstruction, and to follow up with chemotherapy.
Hamilton's doctors also suggested that she participate in a clinical trial using a drug called Herceptin, which was showing promising results against her specific strand of breast cancer. In June 2003 Hamilton learned that her name had been one of the few that were chosen to participate in the clinical trial.
"It was like, for me, winning the Powerball lottery," she said. "I could never and would never ask for anything more or haven't since. I hit the big one."
Compared to the chemo, Hamilton said the Herceptin was a "cake walk". Herceptin has since been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. In February Hamilton will be celebrating seven years of being completely cancer free.
While Oct. is recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the fight should not stop here. Promote breast cancer awareness year-round by purchasing pink breast cancer products or donating to organizations such as National Breast Cancer Foundation by visiting the website nationalbreastcancer.org. The money donated will help provide thousands of women with proper screening methods in order to detect cancerous cells at an early stage and save thousands of lives.
This October Brest Cancer Awareness will be celebrating its 25th anniversary. According to nbcam.org, Breast Cancer Awareness Month started in 1984 when the founding members on the Board of Sponsors, the American Academy of Family Physicians, AstraZeneca Healthcare Foundation and Cancer Care, Inc. hosted a week-long event. At this event they distributed brochures, spoke to news reporters and testified before a U.S. Congressional committee about the desperate need for nation-wide access to mammography.
The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month organization is no different today. It is still embodied by numerous national public service organizations, professional medical associations, and government agencies. Together they have partnered to raise breast cancer awareness and to spread information about access to free breast cancer screening services.
The NBCAM website lists several events taking place in the United States this October to help promote breast cancer awareness.
The Many Faces of Breast Cancer is just one of the many fundraisers being held. It is taking place in five different locations across the US: Chicago, Seattle, Houston, St. Louis, and Atlanta. The Many Faces of Breast Cancer has made it their mission to educate women about the risks they are facing, providing information and creating support groups for those that have been unfortunately diagnosed with breast cancer. Also, a selection of medical experts will be present to confront the ones who have survived this awful disease. They will advise on the issues of psychosocial needs, nutrition and diet, recurrence and the latest treatment research.
Another popularly recognized event is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. This event is split into two different locations this year in Austin, Texas and San Diego, Calif. According to komen.org the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is the largest series of 5K runs/fitness walks in the world. It has successfully pulled in over one million participants since 2005. The Komen Race for the Cure Series raises significant funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. The race also celebrates breast cancer survivorship, and honors those who have lost their battle with the disease.
The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is a significant event because in 1990 it is where the first pink ribbon was spotted. That year the race was held in Washington D.C. and the foundation handed out pink visors randomly to the participants. Some of the 8,529 walkers wore pink ribbons. The next year, at the race in New York, the foundation instead handed out pink ribbons to the participants. From then on the pink ribbon has become the official symbol of breast cancer.
Events are being organized to help promote breast cancer awareness all around the globe, but University of the Cumberlands has put in their helping hand as well. At the football game against West Virginia Tech, on Oct. 24, 2009, the coaching staff from UC wore pink arm bands while the players had an assortment of pink accessories; from pink athletic tape to pink shoelaces. The cheerleaders at UC have also teamed up with the school's Health Education Committee to help promote breast cancer awareness and the 12th annual Lee's National Denim Day. According to denimday.com, Denim Day participants are asked to wear jeans to work on Oct. 2.
According to cancer.org every 1 in 8 women (12.6 percent) will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Breast cancer is defined by the National Breast Cancer Foundation as a disease that is made up of malignant cells that form in the tissue of the breast.
Stephanie Hamilton, a breast cancer survivor from London, Ky. was 36 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was Nov. 2002 when Hamilton, in the shower, discovered a lump under her left armpit.
"I was only in pain that one day" she said. "I was taking Advil every four to six hours."
Hamilton had thoughts in the back of her mind screaming breast cancer, so she thought it best to go to a medical expert to find answers. The doctor brushed the lump off as a calcified node that would have to be removed.
"No big." she thought. Her doctors scheduled her biopsy for Feb. 10, 2003. Once waking up from the surgery Hamilton was informed that her lump was indeed cancerous and she did have a strand of breast cancer.
"The sheer shock was indescribable." she explained. "It wasn't a hormone-based cancer like most breast cancers are," she said. "The key phrase for me was it was aggressive." Her doctors recommended that she have a mastectomy and breast reconstruction, and to follow up with chemotherapy.
Hamilton's doctors also suggested that she participate in a clinical trial using a drug called Herceptin, which was showing promising results against her specific strand of breast cancer. In June 2003 Hamilton learned that her name had been one of the few that were chosen to participate in the clinical trial.
"It was like, for me, winning the Powerball lottery," she said. "I could never and would never ask for anything more or haven't since. I hit the big one."
Compared to the chemo, Hamilton said the Herceptin was a "cake walk". Herceptin has since been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. In February Hamilton will be celebrating seven years of being completely cancer free.
While Oct. is recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the fight should not stop here. Promote breast cancer awareness year-round by purchasing pink breast cancer products or donating to organizations such as National Breast Cancer Foundation by visiting the website nationalbreastcancer.org. The money donated will help provide thousands of women with proper screening methods in order to detect cancerous cells at an early stage and save thousands of lives.
