Council Vice Chair Christine Chandler, center, presents a proclamation declaring October Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Among those accepting the proclamation were Nancy Partridge, second from right, and Los Alamos Council on Cancer President Dianne Hammon, right. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
By NANCY PARTRIDGE
Los Alamos
Tuesday, the Los Alamos County approved a proclamation declaring October Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The proclamation:
WHEREAS: According to the American Cancer Society, this year, 268,670 people will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the U.S.; more than 40,000 women and more than 400 men in the U.S. are expected to die from breast cancer; and
WHEREAS: Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women, and is second only to lung cancer as cause of cancer death; and
WHEREAS: A woman living in the US has a 1-in-8, lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer; and men have a 1 in 833 lifetime risk of getting breast cancer; and
WHEREAS: Breast cancer typically produces no symptoms when the tumor is small and most easily treated; although breast cancer generally has been referred to as a single disease, there are up to 21 distinct histological subtypes, and
WHEREAS: The Los Alamos Council on Cancer provides education about breast cancer and supports cancer prevention and treatment; they partners with the American Cancer Society and the National Cosmetology Association to provide the “Look Good and Feel Better” program for women with breast cancer and,
WHEREAS: The Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program at the NM Department of Health provides eligible women with free breast and cervical cancer screening; and
WHEREAS: Public education about breast cancer symptoms, early detection and treatment is the key to fighting breast cancer;
NOW, THEREFORE, on behalf of the Council of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos, I do hereby proclaim October as
“BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH”
in Los Alamos County, and encourage our community to become educated about the early warning signs and causes of this particular cancer and its effective treatment.
Why is this proclamation important? Because Los Alamos has influence with the legislators who vote on the annual funding for the National Defense Authorization Act, which contains funding for cancer research through the Department of Defense, National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Besides fundraising by nonprofits, the funding from the NDAA is the largest support for cancer research in America.
It costs approximately $1,000 for one cancer researcher to work for one day.
Funding is crucial for finding a cure for breast cancer, and the numerous other cancers and their subtypes.
About the author: Nancy Partridge is a native of Los Alamos. She learned to walk about a year after being born at Los Alamos Medical Center.
Everyone is invited to join Team Nancy and walk in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer – no fundraising minimum and the walk is only a few miles. http://main.acsevents.org/goto/npartridge
The Council proclamation for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Courtesy photo
