Op/ED Kate Blake, EH admin
Christina Applegate is the second actress in the last several months to come forward about battling breast cancer. She will be helping with the Stand Up for Cancer event in September- the same one David Cook will be at.
Earlier this year we learned that Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon had a similar diagnosis a couple of years ago and survived. Cynthia has been out promoting and supporting my favorite cancer research group- the Susan Komen Foundation. Cynthia was the speaker at the Washington D.C event in June and recorded a series of PSAs urging women to support the Komen Foundation and the Race for a Cure.
If you are not the athletic type and walking 20 miles for three days- there are other ways you can support the effort for breast cancer research. Check out the US BMW website for the annual Drive for a Cure across America. I have done this several times – you get to drive a great performance car and BMW donates money to cancer research!
I have been a supporter of the Komen foundation for many years. One of my best friends Susan does the annual Avon Walk for a cure in Maryland. She has done this along with a group of friends- a group that has seen breast cancer strike in their own midst. The really great thing about the work that has been ongoing in breast cancer research is the emphasis on detection as well as treatment. The new tests go way beyond x-rays and feeling for lumps. MRIs and other high tech tools are being used today to ensure young women that they will not suffer the way their mothers and grandmothers did. A diagnosis does not have to be fatal- not like it was 30 years ago when my friend Rona lost her mother to a long and brutal bout with breast cancer.
The really great thing about the fight against breast cancer is that it is so personal- everyone knows someone who has had it. Today we know survivors- it is not a death sentance. In another 30 years I hope we will be able to prevent it all together with a vaccine or some other medical breakthrough. Right now detection is our best bet- Christina Applegate is proof that women under 40 must be vigilant and keep up on their own health treatment. Waiting until you are 40 is not always the best for scheduling your first mammogram. And you have to keep up with them.
Links for supporting breast cancer research:
My friend Susan and her friend’s Avon Walk for the Cure Efforts
The Susan Komen Foundation
BMW Ride for a Cure
Stand Up to Cancer
