By Dr. Charity Robinson

October is breast cancer awareness month, and the theme this year is RISE, an acronym for Rally In Screening Everyone, Rally in Serving Everyone, Rally in Supporting Everyone, and Rally in Sharing Everywhere.  Each week of the month has a different focus; education, empowerment, action, community and hope.  Education involves healthy eating and living, as well as resources on symptoms and early detection.  Empowerment is learning how to talk about breast health and breast cancer so women struggling through the diagnosis or treatment can feel empowered to share.  Historically, breast health has not been talked about enough in our communities and even in our families, so it is important to learn how to have these potentially life-saving conversations.  Next week is action, we are encouraging everyone to make a pledge to get your mammogram scheduled, or if not indicated for you, to reach out and encourage at least one other person to get their mammogram scheduled. The most important thing is early detection and treatment, which can lead to higher rates of breast cancer cures.  When breast cancer is detected early, in the localized stage, the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%. If you or someone you know are a woman 50-75, possibly younger or older with risk factors, please encourage them to be diligent about their screening.  Many woman put off caring for themselves because they are too busy caring for others, or possibly afraid of detecting cancer and what might happen.  Medicine has made such tremendous progress in this area that an early diagnosis can be treated more successfully, increasing the chances for survival and reducing the need for aggressive treatment in some cases.

Our community is doing a great job raising funds and supporting breast cancer awareness.  The Dig for a Cure at the high school volleyball game last week was a huge success.  If you missed out on that fundraising opportunity, the Pink Pumpkins for Hope fundraising is going on all month.  If you work in town you can purchase a pumpkin, decorate it in the theme of breast cancer awareness, and compete for best artistic talent.  The funds raised this year will go towards helping CVH purchase a much needed mobile mammography unit!  In the spirit of Hope, all women need to be reminded that their life is valuable and worthy of being cared for.  For more information, you can go to https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/.