image via health-news.org well, i'm not entirely certain why i decided to start a breast cancer series on thursdays. as you might have noticed, i've only managed one post so far, although there have been three thursdays in the month of october. thursdays are the busiest day of the week for me and i would have been better off starting this series on a tuesday when the excitement of the weekend has worn away and i'm not always itching with creative post ideas.
to make up for my blogging neglect, i'm going to get caught up on breast cancer posts this weekend, as it is (thankfully!) a rather slow and relaxing one. so, introducing today's organization:
to make up for my blogging neglect, i'm going to get caught up on breast cancer posts this weekend, as it is (thankfully!) a rather slow and relaxing one. so, introducing today's organization:
the national breast cancer foundation, inc., founded in 1991 by an extraordinary woman named janelle hail. at just thirty four years old, janelle was faced with this disease despite a healthy lifestyle and no family history of breast cancer. as she fought (and beat!) her disease, she began to have a vision for a foundation that supports, educates and assists women and from that small idea, the national breast cancer foundation, inc. was born! i really like this foundation because it really focuses on every woman's risk of developing breast cancer, not just women with health insurance or access to educational materials and quality OBGYNs. And it's true: every woman is at risk for breast cancer, and it is important that those without the privileges and luxuries (never really thought having yearly OBGYN appointments was much of a luxury until now!) to which we are used are also properly cared for.
with this in mind, janelle set out to develop a way to provide free mammograms to women who otherwise would be going without, and this is still one of the main missions of the foundation today. the foundation has valuable partnerships with a number of hospitals and clinics (including the mayo clinic!) that helps provide excellent breast cancer research, education and treatment for women in the united states. the foundation has a number of different celebrity partners and spokespeople including reba mcintire, donny osmond, amy grant, bon jovi and jim brickman (love!) and has various campaigns including "casual up for breast cancer" - a way to use casual fridays at work as a means of raising money for the foundation.
okay and this is really fun: janelle has her own blog! most of her posts refer to survival, strength and finding a positive body image in the face of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. i'm impressed that such a busy CEO can keep a successful blog running (if she can do it, i certainly can!) and i'm sure if you know anyone fighting breast cancer they would be encouraged by janel's thoughts.
and finally, i'm sure you're wondering other than volunteering or directly donating, what you can do to help this cause. and here's the great part: you can help the nbcf, inc. AND support the green movement (um, hello!). to begin, planet green spot, an online site for the green lawn and garden enthusiast, has created a line of "garden for the cause" products including adorable pink garden tools that actually make me want to go dig in the dirt (i'm not much of a fan of gardening). additionally, the sundance catalog, which was created by robert redford and conn
ected with sundance cinema and film festival, features clothes and household goods created by environmentally friendly processes and using organic materials. they are offering a medallion courage tee (organic cotton!) until october 31st with proceeds going to the ncbf, inc. and if you're into this cause but aren't totally in to growing things or organic clothes (i'm afraid i'm not!) - try shopping at thebreastcancersite.com, which is chock full of products (many fair-trade and hand-crafted) that don't go directly to the national breast cancer research foundation, inc., but that fund free mammograms for women in need. one of my favorites is this cool sterling silver ring, made in peru and modeled and named after the maca root, an andean medicinal plant. even if you're not into buying anything, go to this site and click so that sponsors will donate to free mammograms (at no cost to you!). does lending a hand (especially a hand wearing this fantastic ring) get any easier than that!? 
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