Music Blog By Helewise Arends

“Word Echoes from SANZ”: BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Written by Helewise Arends on October 11, 2017

October is BREAST CANCER AWARENESS month and awareness is raised through different platforms to provide HOPE for those who are fighting. According to the World Health Organization, 1.38 million of new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year.

However, the mortality rate of this disease is falling – through early diagnosis, coupled with increasingly innovative treatments.

A number of factors increase a woman’s risk for breast cancer, including lifestyle factors, age, family history, or inherited changes in the BRCA1 and BFRCA 2 genes. There are several types of breast cancer – the type and the stage at which the cancer is diagnosed determines the prognosis.

Breast cancer can affect anyone, even famous people. Celebrity singer-songwriters who fought breast cancer:
– Sheryl Crow was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. She remains cancer-free today and advocates for a cure.
– Olivia Newton-John was diagnosed in 1992 and has made strides in cancer awareness by founding the Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre in Australia.
– Melissa Etheridge – when she battled breast cancer in 2004, she wrote the most inspiring song of her career –
“ I Run For Life”. It was her powerful call to action for survivors, thrivers and caretakers that became an anthem for breast cancer awareness walk/run campaigns.
– Carly Simon was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993, at the age of 53 and after undergoing chemotherapy is currently cancer-free. She told the New York Daily News in 1998, “I feel stronger and more vital than ever. When you actually have a battle, it’s better than when you don’t know who to fight.”

Breast Cancer leaves long term physical, emotional and psychological damage.
A new movement of “Tattoo Artists for Breast Cancer” has emerged that offer women, who have undergone a mastectomy, a chance to recover their femininity and self-esteem with a special tattoo.

Awareness of the symptoms and the need for screening are important ways of reducing the risk.
We’re all together on this journey called LIFE – finding support by being open to others will lessen the burden of #goingitalone!

“And now I’m still learning the lesson
To awaken when I hear the call
And if you ask me why I am still running
I’ll tell you I run for us all”
( Lyrics from “I Run For Life”- Melissa Etheridge)