Should We Advertise Breast Self-Exam?

You won’t see it, i.e., ads for regular self-breast exams, on a regular TV – and by “regular” I mean consistently. May be during annual campaigns or some high-profile event, we see ads and reminders about breast cancer prevention. But do we see it regularly, like Pepsi or Coke commercials?

Well, those organizations who do promote breast cancer awareness are usually struggling with funds to do it on the daily basis. So, it becomes your personal responsibility to etch that reminder in your brain and just do it.

Many of us know that October is a Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is the time when we are reminded again about the prevention, symptoms, options of treatment for this disease. This is the time when the breast cancer movement is the strongest, because everybody’s talking and promoting information about the subject.

But what about the days and months that follow?

Like with any advertised and promoted campaign, once it’s over, people tend to move forward and get involved with something else. Don’t be self-judgmental here. You are not alone in doing so. It is the nature of our human existence in the society so highly involved in multi-tasking and superior achievements.

Today, what I would like to do is to step aside, take a deep breath and remind you all, my fellow women – and, actually, men, too, – about breast cancer risks and prevention.

Many of us do at least the smallest fraction for prevention: Monthly self-exam. And you know, there are even tools that help us to get a better hold of our bodies and know when to ring the medical help bell. 

One of the best breast self-exam aids is LIV. The LIV campaign has been headed by Olivia Newton-John, the breast cancer winner herself, to educate women how actively integrate breast health into our daily lives. You can find so much more on the LIV exploration pages. I encourage you to do it without postponing it for later.

Another wealth of facts for breast cancer info is parked on the pages of National Breast Cancer Foundation HERE. You truly educate yourself and remind yourself about how to:

• Reduce your risk for breast cancer
• Identify breast cancer symptoms and prevention methods
• Locate breast cancer treatment and diagnosis facilities
• Get involved in the Breast Cancer Movement 

The National Breast Cancer Foundation is doing a tremendous job in public education about the importance of understanding the facts about breast cancer. In addition, TBCS provides direct assistance to the patients with breast cancer and funds research to find a cure for this vicious disease. Explore it HERE.

My encouragement for each one of you today is to do your breast self-exam and mark your calendars through the end of the year with one designated day for this routine.

Let’s do it together and support each other. One day, it shall save a life.

And to answer that question I posed in the title of this post, Yes, I think we should do regular advertising about the importance of breast self-examination. Commercials do work. But those that may save a life or two or thousands of lives are still in the making.

Celebrate Woman In You Today!