Breast Cancer Awareness

This short post is a personal effort to promote the importance of breast cancer education, research, early detection, and prevention -- not only during October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but all year round.

In June my wife passed away from triple-negative metastatic breast cancer caused by an inherited BRCA2 mutation. (Read about hereditary cancer and the importance of genetic testing and family communication about inherited cancer risks in a previous post.)

Nearly 46,000 more women in the U.S. are expected to die this year from breast cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in American women. So, PLEASE help save lives by learning more about research, early detection, and prevention:

Breast Cancer Research Foundation

American Cancer Society

National Breast Cancer Foundation

Living Beyond Breast Cancer

Breastcancer.org 

Susan G. Komen Foundation 

FacingOurRisk.org 

BrightPink.org.

Assess your personal risk for breast and ovarian cancer here: www.assessyourrisk.org/

Supporting a Friend with Cancer -- www.100Actsoflove.com

This post, and my previous post on hereditary cancer, are both dedicated to my beautiful and beloved wife, Donna. A world-class educator, author, Grand Canyon hiker, loving mother, and my best friend. No one should suffer and die from a preventable cancer.

The loss happens in time, in fact a moment, but its aftermath lasts a lifetime.
-- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross