By Angela Borders
October 28, 2018
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is breast cancer awareness month, and we at SacWellness would like to do our part to help further our community’s knowledge about this problem. Also, we want to share some information and resources where people can get and give help if they want to.
Who is affected by breast cancer?
According to cancer.org,
“The American Cancer Society’s estimates for breast cancer in the United States for 2018 are:
- About 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
- About 63,960 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
- About 40,920 women will die from breast cancer.”
That is a lot of people whose lives are touched by this disease.
Many people are affected by breast cancer, besides just the person diagnosed. The friends, family, and community of the person with breast cancer are all affected as well.
The National Women’s Health Network states that 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. They also go on to state that there have been improvements since awareness of this problem has been building and people have been seeking out care and treatment
We should also note that while it is far less common, males can get breast cancer too. Often breast cancer gets portrayed as being an issue only women face, so it feels worth mentioning that women are not the only ones affected.
What can we do to help?
There are many ways to support someone who is affected by breast cancer, and/or to support the cause of understanding and treating it better.
Below are some examples of volunteer opportunities, walk/runs, and other opportunities for financially and personally supporting those affected by breast cancer
This organization has many opportunities to get involved. Whether it be donating, volunteering, hosting events, or sharing stories, there are lots of ways to get involved.
This is a group dedicated to pushing for improvement in breast cancer treatment and research. Their front page has links for ways to get involved such as writing political leaders and attending group events.
This link takes you to a page to find out about information regarding walks to support breast cancer.
The Susan G. Komen charity offers many ways to contribute and volunteer ranging from their widely known breast cancer walk/runs to becoming an advocate, donating, and more.
Also, there are many research institutions and charities that one can donate time and money to. A few that are regarded as some of the best to give to are:
National Breast Cancer Foundation
Side Note…
A note feels needed here on the problem of “pinkwashing”, which is when products or companies claim to be supporting breast cancer by making their product pink or showcasing a pink ribbon somewhere, without really contributing much of their profits towards the cause. This is seen by some as positive as it is still raising awareness into the mainstream culture, but others regard this as shameless, solely about profits, and even deceptive. If this is a concern to you, be sure to check out think before you pink‘s checklist on carefully choosing how to support this, or any, cause.
Local Resources
Below is a list of local resources for those who are directly affected by breast cancer. We hope they can be helpful to those in our community.
Local Breast Cancer Support Groups
Because many of the groups out there are through medical providers such as Sutter Health or Kaiser, we highly suggest checking with your medical provider about support groups covered by your medical plan if that is possible. That being said, below are some resources for some groups we’ve found locally:
Breast Cancer Support Groups in the Sacramento Area
This is a link to list of some local breast cancer support groups. There you can find more information on meeting times, locations, and contact information.
Groups from the American Cancer Society
Below is a partial visual of the document found from the American Caner Society at the link above. The full visual also includes groups for those battling other cancers.
Other Resources
Below are some resources that are not necessarily local, but which may still very much be helpful to those affected by breast cancer.
This site has a serious wealth of resources. By visiting this link, and plugging in your location, you can find many different types of resources ranging from medical care to support groups to wigs, clothing, lodging, and much more. Also, we’d like to recommend checking out these two pages: “survivorship“, and “support programs and services“, as they are especially well organized/seem especially helpful.
National Breast Cancer Foundation
At the above link, people can find information on educational resources, guides, and support services.
The above link heads directly to a page about joining their online community, which could be a helpful resource for those looking to connect with others affected by breast cancer.
The above link leads to a resource for online connection that involves support groups led by a social oncologist worker, educational resources, and more.
This list of resources is definitely just a sample of the help that is out there, so know that if you or someone you know is affected by breast cancer, there is help out there! We hope sharing them here is of help to people in our local community, and send our best wishes to anyone struggling with this illness.
To close, we want to share a video by Pitstop Health on youtube, that goes over some information about risk factors and who is affected by breast cancer.
If you or someone you know is struggling with a serious illness such as cancer, therapy may be able to help. Check out our listings for therapists specializing in issues related to chronic illness and chronic pain. SacWellness.com has over 190 therapists located in Sacramento and surrounding areas. This includes areas like Rocklin, Loomis, and auburn.
