In addition to cutting-edge research being carried out at its world famous Hadassah Hospital in Israel, countless Hadassah chapters throughout the United States sponsor a number of cancer awareness programs, such as the instructive "Check It Out" program, presented in high schools and to community groups.
So, it's not too surprising that in honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, many Hadassah chapters will be breaking out the "pink," for local chapter events.
The event consists of a one-mile optional walk and will include a guest speaker who is a breast cancer survivor. Participants may ask friends and family to sponsor them. The event also includes pink snacks, pink drinks and special pink prizes. Participants are asked to make a $10 donation.
Sheila Steinberg, Chevra chapter bulletin editor and a retired math teacher, is a breast cancer survivor.
"I am looking forward to the day when breast cancer is eradicated," she said. "The Hadassah Medical Organization is doing aggressive research into the disease and I have every confidence that this cutting-edge research facility will be instrumental in finding a cure. Our fund-raising efforts here in the United States will help make that happen."
Gloria Loeb-Nissman, chapter president and retired English as a Second Language Teacher from the Bronx, N.Y. noted that "doctors at Hadassah Hospital are busy in their laboratories conducting research into the cause as they seek the "cure."
"At Hadassah Hospital, all physicians do research as well as treat patients," she said. "The most advanced treatment is available to all in need.
To help encourage mammograms every two years among women 50 and over (and earlier in women at high risk due to a personal or family history), the ICA is marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October and a special day on Monday, October 31.
Twenty-five percent of cases are diagnosed in women younger than 50, while 6% are found under the age of 40. The ICA holds assemblies every year for younger women who are at risk and organizes support groups both for them and older women. Although an organization to raise awareness about breast cancer was named “One in Nine,” the current risk of breast cancer during women’s lifetime has reached one in eight.
While the rate of diagnosis with breast cancer is high (96.8 per 100,000) and topped only by Holland, France and Denmark in Europe, the mortality rate here from breast cancer is relatively low and below that in Germany, Finland, Spain, Sweden and Luxembourg.
This is partly due to more willingness to undergo mammography scans and early detection, the ICA says.
Much effort is being aimed at reaching sectors of women who are reluctant to undergo mammograms including haredim and Arab women, where the death rates are higher due to later detection. Early detection can lead to survival rates of around 90%, the ICA adds.
Although breast cancer cannot be prevented completely by healthy lifestyles – unlike lung cancer, which can almost totally be wiped out if tobacco use ends – there are steps one can take to lower the risk.
These include ensuring that one’s body weight is in the normal range and performing regular physical activity. Not drinking excessive amounts (over three portions daily) of alcohol significantly reduces the risk.
Having children at a relatively- young age and breastfeeding them also cuts the risk of breast cancer. Women who have used contraceptive pills for 10 years or more have a 15% to 20% higher risk of contracting breast cancer than women who did not.
The One in Nine organization is distributing via Facebook a special application in which women can virtually paint their profiles with pink to symbolize the fight against breast cancer.
GE Healthcare has launched a world campaign encompassing 25 countries, including Israel, for increasing awareness of the disease.
Thousands of its workers, dressed in pink, will create a human chain to mark the month.
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