Skip to content

Curves helps battle breast cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Curves of Williams Lake is raising awareness in women about the life-saving importance of risk management, early detection and treatment.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Curves of Williams Lake is raising awareness in women about the life-saving importance of risk management, early detection and treatment.

Throughout the month, the women’s fitness centre is waiving the joining fee for new members who show proof of a mammogram within the past year or make a $25 donation to breast cancer research.

According to statistics from the Canadian Cancer Society, nearly 23,400 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, an average of 64 women every day. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Canadian women; one in nine can expect to be diagnosed with it and one in 29 will die of it.

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, each participating Curves centre will focus on three important goals in supporting this annual campaign:

1. Helping women learn the facts about breast cancer and the importance of early detection.

2. Encouraging women to work out three times a week to help reduce their risk of developing breast cancer.

3. Participating in fund-raising efforts to support the research and outreach efforts of the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Early detection is the next line of defence, guidelines from the Canadian Cancer Society encourage women ages 40 to 49 to talk to their doctors about breast cancer, to weigh the risks and benefits of mammograms, and to consider having a clinical breast exam (CBE) performed by a health professional once a year.  Women ages 50 to 69 are encouraged to have a mammogram every two years. Women aged 70 or older should discuss mammograms and ongoing monitoring with their doctors.