Keep-A-Breast

So, I was sitting in my office earlier and I put XM radio on. Katy Perry's song "Hot N Cold" was in queue, and the DJ said something that caught my attention. He said that Katy Perry was donating her breasts to help fight breast cancer. So of course, my curiosity got the best of me and I had to stop what I was doing and listen. There's a website called Keep-a-breast.org(!) and their mission statement reads:

The Keep A Breast Foundation™ is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to help eradicate breast cancer by exposing young people to methods of prevention, early detection and support. Through art events, educational programs and fundraising efforts, we seek to increase breast cancer awareness among young people so they are better equipped to make choices and develop habits that will benefit their long-term health and well-being.

How interesting!!! Go and check out the website. Apparently Katy Perry made a mold of her boobs to auction off on Ebay!!! check out the CRAZY artwork and maybe purchase one for a loved one :)

http://www.keep-a-breast.org/index.php

Oh and if you want to watch the video of Katy Perry getting her 32D's molded... here's the link, which is probably NSFW.

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00017942.html

Psychological effects...

While breast cancer has a lot of physical effects on the human body -- loss of hair, fatigue, loss of breast tissue, etc, there are a lot of psychological effects on both the patient and their loved ones.

A diagnosis of breast cancer can be mentally overwhelming. Many thoughts and feelings may cross someone’s mind that knows they have breast cancer, and a diagnosis can cause changes in personal relationships, feelings about one’s body, and worries about life in general. It is therefore important to be mentally equipped to deal with a diagnosis of breast cancer.

Reactions to a diagnosis of breast cancer

A diagnosis of breast cancer can lead to all kinds of emotional turmoil, with feelings of disbelief, shock, despair, helplessness, anger, resentment, and denial.

Lifestyle-related worries are common; people diagnosed with the disease can start to worry about money and their job, as well as becoming more anxious about their future.

Family and friends may also suffer from a range of feelings.

Help is at hand, however, and solutions can be found to help deal with the barrage of emotions that everyone involved may feel.


Coping with anxiety and depression

It is normal for people who are diagnosed with breast cancer to feel anxious and depressed at some point. Although not every person with breast cancer is affected, up to 50% of women will have significant anxiety, depression, or both in the year after they receive a diagnosis of breast cancer. Family and friends may also suffer from anxiety and depression.

Anxiety and worry can be intense, and can manifest as panic attacks, which can be best described as brief but overwhelming episodes of fear. Symptoms of anxiety and fear can be both emotional and physical, and may include:

• restlessness, feeling shaky, or not able to relax;
• feeling out of control or feeling like you are “going crazy”;
• trouble concentrating;
• problems sleeping (insomnia);
• muscle tension and headaches;
• feeling tired more than usual;
• shortness of breath, racing heart, or even chest pains;
• sweating;
• stomach problems such as upset stomach or diarrhea.

These feelings may be present all the time, or they may come and go. It is important to note that some of these symptoms may indicate other conditions or be caused by breast cancer or the treatments used, so be sure to speak to your doctor about them.

Depression is also common among breast cancer patients, and has both emotional and physical symptoms. Some symptoms of depression are:

• ongoing feelings of hopelessness, sadness, or despair;
• feeling guilty or ashamed;
• crying for no reason;
• poor concentration;
• loss of interest in daily activities;
• fatigue and lack of motivation to do anything;
• changes in eating and sleeping habits;
• weight loss or gain;
• aches and pains.

Depression is not a sign of personal failure or lack of willpower. Many people suffer from depression at some point in their lives. In addition, sometimes the cancer itself or the cancer treatments can cause physical changes in your body that may feel similar to depression. So again be sure to speak to your doctor about any symptoms that you may be experiencing.

Thankfully, both anxiety and depression are treatable conditions, and over time, the symptoms of anxiety and depression among breast cancer patients tends to lessen as patients adjust to living with cancer.

Breast cancer affects the entire family

While this is may be very challenging time for you, it is also a difficult time for your partner and other family members. They may react with the same feelings you are experiencing. This may be hard to accept, because you need their support and feel like you don’t have much to give in return. Although there are no easy answers, it can be helpful for family members to share their feelings with each other.

Family members may not be sure how they can help you, so it is up to you to tell them how they can assist. For example, you could assign each member a specific task, such as doing the cooking, taking care of the bills, or making sure children get to school on time. In addition, think of how family members can provide emotional support and enlist their help.

Breast cancer also affects family and friends

Children need special attention

About a third of women with breast cancer have school age children living with them at home. [1] If you have children, you may feel like you want to avoid telling them that you have breast cancer, but most experts agree it’s best to tell children. Even young children can sense when something is upsetting a parent. Younger children may even think they have caused their parent’s distress.

Of course, what you say to them depends on their age and ability to comprehend the situation. If you aren’t sure how to discuss this with them, talk to a counselor, nurse, or your doctor about how to explain your diagnosis to your children – you can contact some of the resources listed at the end of this article, in the “Additional Information” section. In all cases, it’s important to be honest with your children, but also to remain calm, reassuring, and hopeful.

When children learn of your diagnosis, they may feel the same emotions as adult family members. Some children may talk about their feelings, while others won’t want to. In time, they may be more willing to discuss their feelings.

Children may also behave in depressed or anxious ways. For example, they may have trouble in school, not be able to sleep, or get angry easily. If you think your child is having trouble coping, seek help from a counselor or therapist. Children also can benefit from attending support group meetings (see “Additional Information” section)

Help is available

The good news is there are many resources available to help you and your loved ones cope successfully with the emotional impact of breast cancer.

• Tell your doctor, nurse, or social worker about any emotional difficulties you or your family are having. He or she can put you in touch with counselors or other cancer resources that can help you. In addition, your doctor may also prescribe short-term medication that can help with the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
  
• Join a cancer support group. There are many cancer support groups where patients with cancer can offer each other assistance and companionship, and help each other deal with the emotional and practical aspects of living with cancer. There are support groups available specifically for family members and friends of cancer survivors. Support groups may be online only or larger groups of people who arrange local meetings.
  
• Seek counseling. Certain types of counseling, such as cognitive therapy and behavioral interventions are particularly useful in the treatment anxiety and depression. A counselor can also teach you self-help tools to help you manage overwhelming feelings, such as relaxation techniques, guided imagery, or biofeedback, for example.
  
• Contact a cancer organization. A number of organizations exist to help people with breast cancer. They can offer advice and support for you and your loved ones. Their websites are listed in the “Additional Information” section below. Many of these provide helpful information on breast cancer and how to find a cancer support group.

So, what about animals?

This question comes from Gavin, probably one of 3 people that read this .. he asked: Can animals get breast cancer?


And here's your answer....


Breast Cancer- Fifty percent of all breast tumors in dogs and 85% of all breast tumors in cats are malignant. Spaying your pet between 6 and 12 months of age will greatly reduce the risk of breast cancer. Surgery is the treatment of choice for this type of cancer.

Pink everything

Ever wonder who came up with the concept of the pink ribbon for breast cancer? Well, here's the the answer:

The idea of using a ribbon to promote a cause or spread a message was first started in 1979. During this year, Americans were being held hostage in Iran, and their families, friends and soon the whole nation tied yellow ribbons around trees to show their support for freeing the hostages and bringing them home.

In the early 1990s, a 68 year old woman by the name of Charlotte Haley used the same concept when her daughter, grandma and sister were all diagnosed with breast cancer. To raise awareness, she began making ribbons in the color of peach and attaching them to cards. These cards contained information about the annual budget of the National Cancer Institute and how only a small portion of this budget was being spent on cancer research and prevention. The card urged people to contact their legislators to make a change in this and to wear the ribbons to raise awareness.

In 1991, Evelyn Lauder of the Estee' Lauder Corporation and Alexandra Penney of Self Magazine were putting together a special insert piece for the October edition of Self magazine to recognize breast cancer awareness month. They heard about the peach ribbons and contacted Haley to determine if they could use them. Haley declined claiming it would make the cause commercialized, and that it would lose its grassroots appeal. However, Lauder and Penney really wanted to use the ribbon concept, so they consulted with their legal departments to see what they could do. The legal departments finally agreed they could use the ribbons as long as they changed the color. They chose pink, and the breast cancer awareness pink ribbon concept has grown from there.

Think Before You Buy Pink

While I am probably the person most guilty of this, I know a lot of us buy things to support the cause. If you wander around a Target or Bed Bath and Beyond, you might be bombarded by all the Pink items, making the promise to donate a portion of the proceeds to breast cancer research. Heck, even here at the University of South Carolina, the faux Barnes and Noble has said Pink items. So while our hard-earned money is going to breast cancer research, are we really helping to stop the cure?

Breast cancer is the poster child of corporate cause-marketing campaigns: companies try to reinforce their image and boost their bottom line by connecting themselves with the cause. Several companies do this while simultaneously making products that contribute to the disease—a practice BCA has dubbed “pinkwashing.”

Here is a sample of some of the more problematic "pinkwashing" promotions taking place this fall:

Mercedes-Benz is selling a sedan to raise funds for Saks Fifth Avenue’s Key to the Cure, a women’s cancer initiative developed in partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Women’s Cancer Research Fund. Mercedes-Benz expects to contribute $1 million through the sale of these vehicles. The campaign urges consumers to buy a car, yet pollutants found in car exhaust have been linked to breast cancer.

In 2008, Estee Lauder will donate $500,000 from the sales of its Pink Ribbon Collection of cosmetics to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in an effort to raise awareness about breast cancer. Meanwhile, the company refuses to sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics to ensure that its products do not contain chemicals that are known or strongly suspected of contributing to the disease.

Yoplait’s fall campaign, Save Lids to Save Lives, continues to urge consumers to buy pink-lidded cups of Yoplait yogurt. For each pink lid mailed back to the company by December 31, Yoplait donates ten cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, up to $1.5 million. Sadly, a woman would have to eat three containers of Yoplait every day during the four-month campaign to raise $36 for the cause–and the yogurt is made from cows treated with rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone). There are numerous health concerns, including breast cancer, surrounding the use of rBGH.

Jittery!

Well, as much as I try to cut back on the caffeine, every now and then I like to indulge in the deliciousness known as red bull plus a delightful other thing, but I'll leave that for you all to decide what I'm talking about. So, with that said, researchers have found a link between caffeine and breast cancer:

While caffeine consumption has not been linked to an overall increase in breast cancer

in the general population, a high intake of caffeine may increase the risk of breast cancer in women who have a history of benign, or non-cancerous, breast disease, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and their colleagues studied detailed dietary information from 38,432 women aged 45 and older who were free of cancer and followed these women for 10 years. They found that, in general, consumption of caffeinated foods and beverages was not associated with an overall risk of breast cancer. However, in women with benign breast disease, there was a borderline significant positive association between breast cancer risk and the highest intake of caffeine.

The researchers also found a link between high caffeine consumption and the risk of developing breast tumors that were either hormone-receptor negative or larger than 2 centimeters. They conclude that their findings indicate that caffeine consumption may affect breast cancer progression, but state that these findings still warrant further study.

Pink Ribbon Philantrophy

How can you make a difference? Why not donate time/ money to Susan G. Komen and/ or Race for the cure? There should be an affiliate in your area (except if you live in Columbia, SC...why am I not surprised) to which you can give back to save the boobs. Or, you can always donate online.

Affiliates

With survivors and activists in 125 cities and communities, more than 100 Komen Race for the Cure® events in the United States and three International Affiliates, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the most progressive grassroots organization fighting breast cancer today.

Thanks to more than 100,000 survivors and activists dedicated to the fight against breast cancer, the Komen Affiliate Network is the nation's largest private funder of community-based breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment programs.

Up to 75 percent of the net income from each Komen domestic Affiliate is dedicated to fighting breast cancer in that Affiliate's community. Every year, Komen Affiliates award grants to local hospitals and community organizations that provide breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment programs for medically underserved women. Remaining net income (a minimum of 25 percent) supports the Komen Award and Research Grant Program, which funds groundbreaking breast cancer research, meritorious awards and educational and scientific programs around the world.