October is Breast Cancer Awareness and Prevention month. You may have read about my own personal breast cancer scare a few years ago, but one thing is for certain… breast cancer affects us all. If you look around, chances are someone you know or love is fighting a tough battle.
I speak a lot about women of action around here. When I learned about Nancy Brinker years ago, I knew I had to help. Besides donating money to her organization, I became fascinated with sharing her story with my readers.
To appreciate her, is to know that story.
Let me first tell you a bit about her charity, Susan G. Komen Los Angeles County
Susan G. Komen was a woman who fought breast cancer with her heart, body and soul. Throughout her diagnosis, treatments, and endless days in the hospital, she spent her time thinking of ways to make life better for other women battling breast cancer instead of worrying about her own situation. That concern for others continued even as Susan neared the end of her fight. Moved by Susan’s compassion for others and committed to making a difference, Nancy G. Brinker promised her sister that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.
That promise is now Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having invested more than $1 billion since inception in 1982. As the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, they’re working together to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®, and generous contributions from their partners, sponsors and fellow supporters, they have become the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.
So today, I couldn’t be more proud of our company HADRY, that just donated over 500 HADRY fashion scarves to women undergoing breast cancer treatment so that they may feel beautiful and protected by the water. Our gift in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, makes me so proud of to have founded a product with a purpose beyond its initial goal.
For those of you that didn’t know the HADRY backstory, you can take a look.
HADRY STORY
HADRY COMMERCIAL
So, what started as a fashion invention accessory for women to protect their hair by the water, has also enabled women fighting cancer and undergoing treatment to really protect their heads and feel glam and beautiful at the same time. When I hear women with cancer tell me that they can now sit by the ocean or pool and actually have an option to wear a water resistant, UV and breathable headscarf, it makes my heart smile.
Thank you for all your tireless work Susan G. Komen Los Angeles County. I will always support you in any way I can.
May I also provide some breast cancer prevention tips.
Tips for Breast Cancer Prevention:
Among the easiest things to control are what you eat and drink and how active you are. Here are some strategies that may help you decrease your risk of breast cancer:
- Limit alcohol. A link exists between alcohol consumption and breast cancer. How strong a link remains to be determined. The type of alcohol consumed — wine, beer or mixed drinks — seems to make no difference. To protect yourself from breast cancer, consider limiting alcohol to less than one drink a day or avoid alcohol completely.
- Maintain a healthy weight. There’s a clear link between obesity — weighing more than is appropriate for your age and height — and breast cancer. This is especially true if you gain the weight later in life, particularly after menopause. Experts speculate that estrogen production in fatty tissue may be the link between obesity and breast cancer risk.
- Stay physically active. Regular exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight and, as a consequence, may aid in breast cancer prevention. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. If you haven’t been particularly active in the past, start your exercise program slowly and gradually work up to a greater intensity. Try to include weight-bearing exercises such as walking, jogging or aerobics. These have the added benefit of keeping your bones strong.
- Consider limiting fat in your diet. Results from the most definitive study of dietary fat and breast cancer risk to date suggest a slight decrease in risk of invasive breast cancer for women who eat a low-fat diet. But the effect is modest at best. However, by reducing the amount of fat in your diet, you may decrease your risk of other diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke. And a low-fat diet may protect against breast cancer in another way if it helps you maintain a healthy weight — another factor in breast cancer risk. For a protective benefit, limit fat intake to less than 35 percent of your daily calories and restrict foods high in saturated fat.
- Limit Stress: There is a link between psychological stress and breast cancer aggressiveness. Watch your stress levels. Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Vitamin B are all aids in stress reduction. Vitamin C clears cortisol (stress hormone) out of your bloodstream. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to cancer, depression and immunity problems- Vitamin D is a great supplement to consume, especially while entering the winter months. Vitamin B has been known as “the feel good” vitamin, elevating your mood and even possibly boosting your metabolism. We are really discovering just how dangerous the effects of stress are on your body.
- Regular self-examination or clinical examination is key in early detection. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Over 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. When breast cancer is detected early (localized stage), the 5-year survival rate is 98%.
(Mayo Clinic)
In order to cure cancer, we must to talk about it, and spread awareness. My wish is one day, we won’t talk about it anymore.
Sending love,
Beautiful message.