Pink is the colour of hope on display throughout St George this month, with businesses transforming to the pretty hue for a worthy cause.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the McGrath Foundation’s campaign Pink Up Your Town is in full swing.
Club Rivers, in collaboration with Georges River Council has jumped on board the pink bandwagon, and introduced the rosy shade into its premises.
The initiative raises awareness of the valuable work the foundation does in funding McGrath Breast Care Nurses, who help patients from diagnosis to treatment, and recovery.
Club Rivers logos have turned pink, staff are swapping their usual corporate and formal shades for a brighter colour, and the lights and decor are also pink.
There will also be a quilt show on October 20 at Oatley Uniting Church, where all proceeds from an exhibition and auction of the pink quilt competition will be donated to the foundation.
There is also some positive news on the breast cancer front.
The percentage of deaths from breast cancer has been reduced into single digits (nine per cent) and the tide is finally turning in the fight against the disease.
In 1994, when the National Breast Cancer Foundation was established, the five year survival rate was 76 per cent. Now it is 91 per cent.
Its key research such as the development a 3D smart surgical glove, ensures all cancer cells are removed during surgery – minimising the future spread of cancer and preventing further operations.
But despite advances in research, breast cancer is still the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia and incidence is increasing, with one in eight women to be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
The foundation is also calling on the community to support the Pink Ribbon Breakfast during October.
This year’s campaign will focus on metastatic and triple negative breast cancers.
The federal government is funding an innovative two-year support and training program aimed at delivering better outcomes for breast cancer survivors by linking them directly with researchers, clinicians and policy makers.
The Breast Cancer Network Australia will receive $430,000 to roll out the ‘Seat at the Table’ program to women across Australia with a particular focus on supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island and culturally and linguistically diverse women.
The program is internationally recognised for delivering better support and care for women battling breast cancer and other female cancers such as cervical, uterine, endometrial, and ovarian.
It recruits, trains and supports women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer to work as consumer champions with researchers, advisory committees and decision making bodies throughout Australia.
These women represent the views and experiences of hundreds of thousands of women who have gone through, or will go through, the challenges of cancer.
