2009-10-22

Curves of Bandera joins breast cancer awareness campaign

Contributed

During October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the staff of Curves of Bandera, located at 624 Highway 16 South in the Bandera Village Center, encourages women to get annual mammograms and perform monthly breast self-exams.

Women who bring in a mammogram performed within the last year or make a $25 donation to the American Cancer Society will be waived from paying a service fee when they join Curves during one of the last three weeks of October.

Also, participating Curves locations will offer a unique home breast self-exam kit called the Liv Aid, which makes the breast self-exam process more sensitive for detecting unusual lumps. For every Liv Aid kit sold, Curves will donate one to a low-income woman.

The probability of a woman being diagnosed with invasive breast cancer during her life is about one in eight. Additionally, the probability of dying from breast cancer is about one in 35, according to the American Cancer Society. However, as a result of detecting cancer earlier and receiving improved treatment, breast cancer mortaility rates are decreasing, statistics show.

“Breast cancer is by far the most common cancer among women worldwide and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a perfect opportunity for us to emphasize ways of prevention,” said Ruth Kirkland of the Bandera Curves. “Not only are we rewarding women for having mammograms and encouraging them to perform breast-exams, we are also educating Bandera-area community members about the disease and how they can significantly reduce their risk through diet and exercise.”

Based on recent information released about breast cancer, Kirkland has provided the following advice for local women regarding breast self-exams:

• How can women exercise good breast health? Most women who think of screening for breast cancer think of mammograms, but there are three ways to screen for breast cancer – mammography, clinical breast exam by a healthcare professional and breast self-exams. When combined, they offer the best opportunity to detect the disease at its earliest, most treatable stages.

• How important is early detection? Early detection means the availability of more treatment options. More than 95 percent of women whose breast cancer is caught in its earliest stages are more likely to be healthy and disease-free five years after their diagnosis and treatment, Kirkland said.

• How important are breast self-exams? Breast self-exams catch a significant number of breast cancers, some 15 to 20 percent that otherwise might have gone undetected for possibly up to a year between doctor visits, Kirkland said. Additionally, women themselves find about 80 percent of breast cancers not discovered by mammography. Regular breast self-exams enable women to detect subtle changes in their breast tissue.

Recent research has linked obesity and excess weight with an increased risk for various cancers, including breast cancer. According to Kirkland, Curves has been a long-committed partner in the fight against cancer, raising millions of dollars annually for research, treatment and recovery programs. The company has helped millions of women around the world lose millions of pounds and move away from all types of diseases.

“When women understand that one-third of all breast cancer can be related to lack of exercise and poor diet, they understand they have the opportunity to have much more control over their cancer risk,” she said. “We want to encourage women to learn more about the impact wellness has on preventing cancer.”

For more information about Curves of Bandera and what week in October service fees will be waived, contact Kirkland at 830-796-7773 or 972HWU9@curvesmail.com.