Want to Help the Cause? Join H.O.W. Now!

Today I am grateful for the beauty of fall that we are being treated to. I am also grateful for laughter . . . the sound of other people's, the feel of my own.

Here it is October 11 and I haven't mentioned Breast Cancer Awareness Month at all. I have thought about it. I have read other people's continuing discussion of it. But I just haven't felt compelled to write about it this year. The passion and frustration I feel about pink ribbon culture and things like pinkwashing (selling products known or suspected of causing cancer while also championing the cause of breast cancer--think cosmetic companies as an example) haven't lit my writer's fire lately.

I do have plenty I have already written though, so here is my blog post from Oct. 1, 2012:

Monday, October 1, 2012   Take Action and Join the Count! Here's HOW . . .
Today I am grateful for the wonderful breast cancer bloggers I am getting to know in the blogosphere and for what they are teaching me. I am also grateful for the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation's new initiative--the Health of Women Study.

It is also worth mentioning that Dr. Susan Love underwent a successful bone marrow transplant recently as part of her treatment for leukemia, which she was diagnosed with in June. I very much respect Dr. Love and the work she does surrounding breast cancer and finding answers. I wish her well in her recovery.

This is a blog about gratitude, but it's my blog and I'm a breast cancer patient so on this opening day of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I just want to say a few things. First and foremost, I feel deeply blessed to have my health and be able to do things like run marathons. I take less for granted than I used to and I remember my priorities better than I used to.

I am proud to be part of the growing discussion about what is wrong with the current breast cancer awareness movement and what is right with it. Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation's (DSLRF) efforts definitely fall in the "what is right" category. Taking action for a cause is empowering, especially if you have been personally touched by something, as so many of us have been impacted by breast cancer. Our own or in someone we care about.

Here are a couple ways to take action. Join the new DSLRF initiative called the Health of Women Study at www.healthofwomenstudy.org. It is open to women worldwide over the age of 18, both those who have had breast cancer and those who have not. The goal is to build a huge database of information from women about women to help find potential answers to the causes of and risk factors for breast cancer.

You can also join the on-going DSLRF initiative known as the Army of Women at www.armyofwomen.org. This is also open to all women regardless of breast cancer history. This database helps researchers locate research participants in months instead of years, allowing the pace of research to pick up.

It just takes a few minutes to sign up for either and then you have taken positive action for a good reason. You can then decide what you want to participate in. It is all totally voluntary and your information is protected.

Please consider joining one or both of these initiatives. I am already in the Army of Women which is trying to recruit a million members. (The Army is over 369,000 strong so far.) I was number eight-thousand one-hundred and something for the HOW study this morning. Let's get both numbers climbing rapidly.

One more thing as we begin a month that will provide many opportunities for pink purchases. If you want to support the breast cancer cause, please be a discerning consumer. Know where the money is going to and how much of it is being donated. If you don't like the answers or don't get an answer, consider returning it to the shelf.

And on that note, I continue with my day. Cancer patient or not, all any of us have is today. Make it a good one!
 
As of October 10, 2013, the Army of Women is 374, 453 strong and the
Health of Women Study has grown to 45,754 participants. I think we can do better.
Like gratitude comes to life by taking action, real progress to end breast cancer
comes when research can move forward faster. Consider taking action today.

 

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