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Breast Cancer Photo Exhibit Draws Attention in Pennsylvania
Carolyn Shellenberger, The Senior Journal
Aug. 19, 2005
BCC one of the effective groups educating women on breast cancer
Women fear breast cancer more than heart disease, even though heart disease is the biggest killer. Many have suggested this is because the groups that try to make women aware of breast cancer have done such an effective job. Certainly one of the best examples is the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, which is bringing its dramatic traveling photo exhibit to the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville.
"When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, my youngest child was only eight. Now, I can hold her one-year-old son in my lap." Carolyn Shellenberger (photo above)
The PBCC exhibit, "67 Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania," will be displayed in the J. Curtis McKinney Student Union and Gymnasium.
This educational work of art features women from each of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, along with a message about how breast cancer has touched their lives.
The women reflect the diversity of Pennsylvania, and their stories reflect the impact of breast cancer on themselves, their families and their communities. The exhibit encourages women to learn about early detection and celebrates the life, courage, hope and dignity of women and families who have battled breast cancer.
Pat Halpin-Murphy, PBCC President & Founder, encourages everyone to visit the exhibit. "Breast cancer is not a rare event separate from the fabrics of our everyday lives. It impacts our mothers, daughters, friends and ourselves. We must educate ourselves about this insidious disease and fight to find a cure now...so our daughters won't have to."
"Age, race, career or socioeconomic class aside - breast cancer can happen to any woman. The best defense available is early detection and aggressive treatment. It all starts with being aware, and that is why every woman and anyone who cares about them should see this exhibit," said Anthony Nasralla, President & CEO of Titusville Area Hospital.
The PBCC, founded in 1993, is a non-profit organization and the only statewide grassroots organization that speaks to and for breast cancer survivors. This year, more than 12,000 Pennsylvania women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. More than 2,300 will lose their lives to the disease. The PBCC's mission is to find a cure for breast cancer and to improve the quality of breast cancer education, research and outreach in the state.
Breast Cancer in Older Women
A study of women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1993 and 1997 found that the average 50-year-old woman has about a 1-in-18 chance of developing breast cancer in her next 20 years. The researchers said, on average, a 50-year-old woman has a 1-in-86 risk of developing breast cancer in the next five years.
Although breast cancer is much more common in older women than younger women, the risk of developing breast cancer during the remainder of an older woman's life is actually lower than the risk for a newborn.
"An older woman has already survived several decades free of breast cancer, while a newborn is still at risk of developing breast cancer (or dying of other causes) until she reaches that particular age," says Cyllene R. Morris DVM, PhD, of the Public Health Institute's California Cancer Registry in Sacramento, California..
Their Website is a good example of their effectiveness and features photos and stories from the traveling exhibit.
"67 Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania" is sponsored by the PBCC and funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
An opening reception, sponsored by Titusville Area Hospital, is scheduled for Thursday, September 15 at 5:30 p.m. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. To RSVP for the reception, please call 1-800-377-8828 x303.
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