Dear Friends,
Do not adjust your screen. There are no technical problems. You’re seeing the pink haze that covers everything this time of year. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) and I’m willing to bet that you’re not only acutely aware of breast cancer, but you’re also well aware of BCAM.
The dilemma that we at Dr. Susan Love Foundation for Breast Cancer Research face each year is to stay quiet during BCAM – do nothing and watch the other nonprofits and the media lather themselves into a frenzy competing for more awareness – or jump in and try to get our message heard above the din.
We’re jumping. Not because we think anyone needs more awareness. As Dr. Love says, “When the NFL is wearing pink, awareness has been achieved.” But we’re participating in BCAM because we think there is a more important message that needs to be heard.
The message is this: we need more research to understand the cause of breast cancer so we can end it. Pink t-shirts and more mammograms won’t end breast cancer. Only more research focused on understanding what enables malignancy to occur in the first place will allow us to then figure out how to stop it before it starts. Enough women, and men, have had their lives altered and they carry the scars, physical and emotional, with them every day. Far too many have lost their lives to metastatic disease.
It’s time to stop celebrating and start investing more in research that will eradicate breast cancer.
While we will continue to work on research projects that will bring us closer to that goal, we will also still be here to educate and inform patients and their family and friends. We are thrilled to announce that our new video-based program, ImPatient Science™, is launching October 1. Check out the teaser video here. Then, come to our website October 1 and watch the first four videos in the program.
We’re also happy to announce that the second series of videos, the Metastatic Series, will be available on October 12, which happens to be the day before Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. This is a bit of a coincidence for us, as we hoped this series would be ready to launch on October 1 but has been a bit delayed. There’s a certain sense of balance to having this series launch at this time.
A quick plug: we – like most of the other breast cancer groups – are participating in the Revlon Love is On Million Dollar Challenge. In this month, where pink dominates and so much money is spent and raised, please consider helping us meet the challenge. Your gift of $10, $15, or any amount will help us win. We promise to use that million dollars on innovative research and educational programs that will change the lives of women in the future.
We can be the generation that ends breast cancer.
With gratitude,
Heather
