October is widely known to be Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is an annual campaign that raises awareness about the impact of breast cancer, and aims to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure.
The National Breast Cancer Foundation is a great asset of information to help you educate yourselves and others on the importance of annual screenings. They have released a calendar of ways to support this initiative daily.
According to the NBCF, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, except for skin cancers. It is estimated that in 2022, approximately 30% of all new women cancer diagnoses will be breast cancer. On average, every 2 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States.
What can you do to get involved in awareness and support?
- Make a donation to the NBCF, or other organizations that support the education and treatment of breast cancer.
- Join the local Making Strides event. This is a fundraising event that involves a 5k walk/run. You can walk alone, or with a team, or you can simply donate.
- Opry Goes Pink! For every ticket sold, $5 will be donated to Susan G. Komen® for the fight against breast cancer.
- Wear Pink! The pink ribbon represents the courage to fight breast cancer, hope for the future, and the charitable goodness of people and businesses who publicly support the breast cancer movement. It is intended to evoke solidarity with women who currently have breast cancer.
- Get your annual mammogram (if you are eligible) and post on social media to encourage and remind others to make their appointment!
- Breast Cancer Awareness Walk at Nashville Library- Edmondson Branch – Saturday, October 14, 8:30-10
Join Edmondson Pike Library Branch for the 3rd Annual Breast Cancer walk. The walk will start in the library’s parking lot, and wrap around the building. There will be informational materials for participants to take with them. - 11th Annual Wine Around the Square–
Saturday, October 21, 6-9P, Murfreesboro
A progressive wine and spirits tasting event set around the historic Downtown Square in Murfreesboro, TN. The event kicks off with a VIP party. Stones River Total Beverages, provides a wide variety of wines and spirits for sampling throughout the evening. Included in the ticket, guests will receive a full dinner provided by The Alley On Main. 100% of the proceeds go to the ASTR Foundation’s Power of Pink Fund, Rutherford County’s premier fight against breast cancer. The Power of Pink Fund provides mammography for underinsured and uninsured women in Rutherford County, including screenings, diagnostics, ultrasounds and MRIs. The POP Fund also supports two Mobile Mammography Coaches that serve 26 counties in Middle Tennessee as well as the Cancer Wellness Program at Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford. - Give a Hope Kit to a cancer patient- HOPE Kits are filled with thoughtful items that patients have told us are comforting and encouraging while undergoing breast cancer treatment
- Lunch & Learn- Breast Health – Wednesday, October 25, Noon-1P
Join Jessica Baladad, founder & chief advocate with Feel For Your Life, as she shares her breast cancer journey and advice to inspire women to be proactive when it comes to their breast health. It is a BYOL (bring your own lunch) event. *The Sapphire Suite is offering this {bring your own} LUNCH & LEARN as a way to show support to our own community of women. The statistics show that 1 in 8 women in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer. That number haunts us as we are a community full of WOMEN! This event is FREE and open to the public, please be sure to register here!
There are programs in Tennessee to help those who are uninsured, or facing financial difficulties. Please share this with any women in your life. Lack of insurance or funding should never be a reason why women cannot get the screenings and healthcare treatment they need. Visit here for more information.
Local organizations you can get involved with:
