Four Ways you can support Breast Cancer Awareness Month at Sanford Lab

“October has been designated as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Sanford Lab team will be promoting this important message throughout the month,” said Larry Jaudon, environment, health and safety director at Sanford Lab. “Please join us in our October initiative to raise awareness about the importance of early detection and treatment.”

Here are four ways you can join Sanford Lab’s breast cancer awareness month initiative:

1. Represent a friend or family member.

A fight with breast cancer is not soon forgotten. The ESH team has pink flags available for you to write names of family members and/or friends who have fought or are fighting the breast cancer battle. Stop by Laura Baatz’s office to make a free-will donation for as many flags as you wish. The flags will be displayed along the sidewalk entering the Administration Building during the last week of October in recognition of how many lives breast cancer influences around us.

2. Donate to the cause.

The money collected from the free-will donations will be given to a local charity. Our goal is to collect $500 or more. A large ribbon will be posted on the wall at the entrance to indicate our donation progress.

Any suggestions of a local organization are appreciated, please email them to Michelle Andresen.

3. Wear pink on Fridays and sport a hardhat sticker or bracelet everyday.

Every Friday of October, we encourage you to wear pink to show your support.

Show your support every day of the week way by wearing a pink silicone awareness bracelet or a pink ribbon hardhat sticker. Both can be picked up in Laura Baatz’s office.  

4. Be informed.

“Approximately 12 percent of the women in the USA will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their life,” said Jaudon. “The good news is that if diagnosed early enough, most women can survive breast cancer.”

Leading voices for breast cancer awareness have issued guidelines saying that all women should be eligible for screening mammograms starting at age 40. Here are a few things to consider about mammograms:

• They can save your life. Finding breast cancer early reduces your risk of dying from the disease by 25-30 percent or more. Women should begin having mammograms yearly at age 40, or earlier if they're at high risk.
• Don't be afraid. Mammography is a fast procedure (about 20 minutes), and discomfort is minimal for most women. The procedure is safe: there's only a very tiny amount of radiation exposure from a mammogram. To relieve the anxiety of waiting for results, go to a center that will give you results before you leave.
• Get the best quality you can. If you have dense breasts or are under age 50, try to get a digital mammogram. A digital mammogram is recorded onto a computer so that doctors can enlarge certain sections to look at them more closely. 

For more information on breast cancer and breast cancer awareness, visit Komen.org.

If you would like to be involved in promoting events during the month to support Breast Cancer Awareness, please contact Laura, Michelle or Julie in ESH.