Susan G. Komen Foundation

Recently a close friend of mine visited the doctor who informed her that she may have had breast cancer.  Thankfully it turned out to be not breast cancer but it got me to thinking about when and who cancer affects.  The truth is, it is an incredibly indiscriminate disease.  Cancer doesn't care if you're five years old or if you're 85 years old, if you're poor or rich, if you work out or if you're obese.  Cancer doesn't care if you're a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a son, a daughter, or even a best friend. Cancer doesn't care.  Which is why we should.  

Being that we are coming to the end of October, which is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought I would share some startling statistics.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breast cancer is the fifth leading killer of women today and affects over 400,000 lives a year.  This number is the number of men, women, mothers, fathers, children, and friends will fight this disease too.  The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2008 alone that 40,480 women will die of breast cancer, and this is not including men.  Although these numbers are solely based on female statistics, almost half of that number is the amount of men that will die of breast cancer as well.

Susan G. Komen was an ordinary woman who at the age of 33 developed breast cancer.  When she went to talk to her hometown physician he told her that she should see a surgeon to get it removed.  After having one surgery and not knowing enough to ask questions,  Komen and her family believed she had been saved. However, after six months the cancer returned and had spread to her lungs and other vital organs.  Finally, the Komen family began asking questions and seeking other help. After three years of fighting breast cancer with radiation, chemotherapy, and countless surgeries Komen died.  During this three year battle, Komen kept talking with her sister about helping women to be more aware of breast cancer and how it affects our bodies.  When Komen died at the age of 36 her sister Nancy G. Brinker, began the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  Since its start, the foundation has become one of the largest networks for breast cancer survivors and activists. (Komen.org)

  I really wanted to highlight this foundation because it has been one of the most influential foundations in heightening awareness and raising money for this disease.  The sad reality is that many of us will probably or already know someone who is affected by breast cancer.  Who knows one of us may get it.  The fact is none of us know, but we should know the right questions to ask and where to go when we are faced with it.  None of us should settle for just one doctor’s opinion.  With so many other things going wrong in this world we should be fighting for something  that can be caught and treated in its early stages.   My challenge for everyone is to not be ignorant. Know the facts.  Get involved in helping to save lives.  The Susan G. Komen Foundation has innumerable options in order for people to understand and engage in this fight.