Breast Cancer Awareness Month

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM)

is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities 

every October to increase awareness of the disease 

& to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment & cure. 

The campaign also offers information and support to those affected by breast cancer.

Having breast cancer in our family

& personally having a quarter-sized breast cyst myself (thank God it was benign),

it is important for me to help spread awareness.

Being a palliative care & hospice nurse,

I have encountered numerous patients with breast cancer in the end of life

& it is heart-breaking.

Screening tests are used to find cancer before a person has any symptoms.

So please, do not wait to feel something before seeing a doctor.

The Breast Cancer Screening Chart from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

compares recommendations from several leading organizations. 

All women need to be informed by their health care provider 

about the best screening options for them. 

When you are told about the benefits & risks of screening 

& decide with your health care provider whether screening is right for you

—if so, when to have it—this is called informed & shared decision-making.

Get Breast Cancer Screening Chart here.

Although breast cancer screening cannot prevent breast cancer, 

it can help find breast cancer early, 

when it is easier to treat. 

Women should also know how their breasts normally look & feel.

Report any breast changes to a health care provider right away.

Some women – because of their family history, a genetic tendency, or certain other factors 

– should be screened with MRIs along with mammograms. 

Talk with a health care provider about your risk for breast cancer and the best screening plan for you.

For this month,

there are many campaigns supporting breast cancer.

For 3 years now, 

one of the campaigns I support is Saks Fifth Avenue's Key To The Cure campaign.

The 2018 KTTC shirt is designed by Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera.

It is the 20th anniversary Key to the Cure T-shirt!

It has a vibrant poppies in pink & red.

I have loved poppies when I lived in London.

The stem of the pink poppy reads:
“We are fighters & we are fighting for a cure.”

 What I like with Saks’ campaign is that,
for the month of October,
100% of sales from KTTC T-shirts sold
at all their stores & online
will be donated to AiRS Foundation
with a guaranteed minimum donation of $250,000.

It is rare nowadays to see 100% donation of the sales.

This shirt is exclusive & limited edition.

Get the shirt here.

*I will post my past years’ shirts this month. Stay tuned!

It is my first time to hear about AiRS.

The Foundation works in partnership with physicians in the US  providing the resources necessary to make surgery an option for women who would not otherwise have access to breast reconstruction. 

This is such an amazing resource that I have learned myself!

To learn more about AiRS, click here.

2018’s Saks Fifth Avenue’s 20th Key to the Cure breast cancer campaign ambassador, 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

To read more about her story & the choice of this year’s foundation,

click here.

P.S.
DIY Charity Tip
 I used to have very long hair & I have cut my hair short this year
& donated my hair
to become a wig for cancer patients.

I sent my hair through Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

It is a charity campaign that allows individuals to donate hair for women
who have lost their own due to cancer treatment.
It was created in June 2006, by Pantene in partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF).

For durable and realistic wigs, donated hair must meet these requirements:

Donated hair must be a minimum of 8 inches long
(hair is measured from just above the elastic band of the ponytail to the ends).

Donors may straighten hair to measure wavy/curly hair.

Hair is washed and completely dry, without any styling products.

Hair may be colored with vegetable dyes, rinses & semi-permanent dyes.
It cannot be bleached, permanently colored or chemically treated.

Hair may not be more than 5% gray.
This is because it takes six ponytails to make each wig
& the ponytails for a single wig will be dyed a uniform color.

Place the plastic bag with the ponytail in a padded or plastic envelope and send to:
Pantene Beautiful Lengths
Attn: 192-123
806 SE 18th Ave.
Grand Rapids, MN 55744

Hair donations are made into free, real-hair wigs by campaign partner, HairUWear
& are distributed through the national network of American Cancer Society wigs banks.

To learn more & the latest update, click here.

Peace, love & cure,

Princess

Instagram: @princessweetah