October is breast cancer awareness month. While many of us know of someone who has been affected by this disease, you might not know that there are a variety of ways that you can get involved right now, in our community, to support awareness and research to help find a cure.
According to the National Institutes of Health, one in eight women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in her lifetime and last year, about 40,000 women were killed by breast cancer. The good news is that because of the phenomenal advances made in diagnosing and treating breast cancer, more women are surviving longer and beating the disease altogether.
Some local businesses, as well as a hometown sports team, have planned some items and events to contribute to fundraising for breast cancer research.
First, The Stationery Studio, a Buffalo Grove based business owned by Renee Redman, features a large selection of personalized stationery and gifts. View their website at www.thestationerystudio.com
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to see their new line of pink personalized breast cancer awareness products that are now available. This special breast cancer product line was created in partnership with Living Beyond Breast Cancer and The Stationery Studio will donate 10 percent of the sales from these products to LBBC.Next, if you’re up for a walk, the American Cancer Society is sponsoring the event “Making Strides of Lake County,” a 5K walk through Independence Grove Forest Preserve, 16400 W. Buckley Road, Libertyville. Scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 18, registration is open at 7:30 a.m. and the walk will begin at 9 a.m., rain or shine.
No pets or bicycles are allowed, but wheelchairs, wagons, strollers and walkers are welcome. Donations will also be accepted to: The American Cancer Society, Attn: Making Strides of Lake County, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1210, Chicago, IL 60601. For more information, contact Carrie Cihasky at 312-279-7281 or email [email protected].
During the entire month of October, look at Opentable.com to see the list of participating Chicago restaurants that are collecting donations from their patrons in support of the Lynn Sage Foundation’s “Chicago’s in Good Taste” campaign. All proceeds will go directly to breast cancer research at Northwestern University. A full list of the restaurants involved is available at www.lynnsagefoundation.org.
Hockey fans should mark their calendars for Sunday, Oct. 25 at 3 p.m., when the Chicago Wolves take on the Charlotte Checkers on Breast Cancer Awareness Day. The Wolves are asking fans to join the coaches, players and staff in wearing pink attire in a show of solidarity to fight against breast cancer. This is the sixth year that the Wolves have teamed up with ‘A Silver Lining Foundation’ to “Stick It to Breast Cancer” by focusing on raising money for their “Buy a Mom a Mammogram” program. During warm ups before the game, the Wolves will use pink sticks. Each stick will be signed by several players and sold for a $175 donation (the price of a mammogram) during the game. In addition to the purchase of the pink stick, a picture can be taken with the Wolves player carrying the stick. Tickets for the game can be purchased at www.chicagowolves.com.
Finally, www.chicagobreastcancer.org has included a list of locations that offer free or reduced cost mammography screenings throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. If you haven’t scheduled a mammography for one reason or another, now is the time to do so. The life you save may be your own.
That’s all for now; please keep in touch and send neighborhood news to Aileen Simons at [email protected].
Simons is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.