Breast cancer is the most common cancer for women in Australia and, after lung cancer, the second most common cause of death for women in this country.
With such statistics, chances are that you may know of someone who has, or has had, breast cancer.Or you may have experienced it yourself. So, how can you get involved in fighting the good fight against breast cancer?
Pink Ribbon Day occurs each year on 26 October, and it’s an important day for breast cancer awareness. You can help raise this awareness by any of the following means:
Raise money
One of the most common ways to raise money is to run (or walk) in an organised event. Once you register, the event may allow you to create a free fundraising page on its website. Then you can invite your friends to donate to your cause.
You can also start a fundraising event yourself – and it doesn’t need to be fitness related.
Donate
Instead of raising money, you could donate – to a friend who’s organising an event or is running in one, or to an accredited breast cancer charity, such as the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Cancer Council’s Pink Ribbon campaign and McGrath Foundation.
Volunteer
It doesn’t need to be all about money. You could volunteer your time for an event or to an organisation dedicated to the cause. You can look for opportunities at the National Breast Cancer Foundation, GoVolunteer, Cancer Council’s Pink Ribbon Day campaign.
If relevant to and safe for you, you could also enrol yourself in a breast cancer study to support research. Talk to your doctor for more information.
Go pink
If the above options don’t suit you, you can always purchase items to deck yourself in pink. It doesn’t need to be gimmicky. You can find some classy wares in the McGrath Foundation shop. You can also buy and sell Cancer Council’s pink merchandise.
If you think that supporting such a cause will make no difference, think again. Any time and money you donate can help to fund important research – it’s the only way that life-saving medicines such as Herceptin can be approved and subsidised, as it is a very expensive, but an effective, treatment for breast cancer.
To raise money, hold an event, donate, volunteer or ‘go pink’, contact the National Breast cancer Foundation, Cancer Council (Pink Ribbon Campaign) or McGrath Foundation.
So, how will you get involved?
