One in eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetime, with over 48,000 women (UK) diagnosed with breast cancer each year. (And it’s not just the girls - around 350 men are diagnosed annually too.)
But, while sadly over 1,000 women still die each month, the good news is that more patients than ever are surviving thanks to better awareness, screening and treatments.
The main thing is to catch it early and that means checking regularly. It’s not always easy and sometimes you’re not sure what is suspicious and what isn’t – for example, my tumour was very high on my breast bone – so, when in doubt, get yourself to the doctor.
Breakthrough have some great guidance on their website and are encouraging all women, regardless of age, to give themselves a little ‘TLC’ ...
- TOUCH your breasts. Can you feel anything unusual?
- LOOK for changes. Is there any change in shape or texture?
- CHECK anything unusual with your doctor.
Of course, there are other brilliant charities and web resources out there: Breast Cancer Care, Macmillan and Cancer Research, to name but a few.
Suffice to say, all these services need money and, this month, lots of well-known brands are lending their support with many products - everything from hair-straighteners to zumba-wear - offering limited edition 'pink ribbon' versions and making a donation from sales.
The other way to raise money is to hold an event. All through October people are being encouraged to 'think pink', with Friday 26th October designated as 'Wear it Pink' day.
Mr P. and I shall be doing our bit too. Knowing what a bunch of fancy-dress-loving exhibitionists our friends are, we plan to hold a pink-themed Wear it PUNK Halloween party to raise some funds and 'scare the shit' out of cancer.
Mr P's very excited and already working on his DJ set. It's going to be one 'hell' of a night!
Suffice to say, all these services need money and, this month, lots of well-known brands are lending their support with many products - everything from hair-straighteners to zumba-wear - offering limited edition 'pink ribbon' versions and making a donation from sales.
The other way to raise money is to hold an event. All through October people are being encouraged to 'think pink', with Friday 26th October designated as 'Wear it Pink' day.
Mr P. and I shall be doing our bit too. Knowing what a bunch of fancy-dress-loving exhibitionists our friends are, we plan to hold a pink-themed Wear it PUNK Halloween party to raise some funds and 'scare the shit' out of cancer.
Mr P's very excited and already working on his DJ set. It's going to be one 'hell' of a night!
No comments:
Post a Comment