Oct. 1 marks the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common cancer that female cancer patients experience (aside from skin cancers), accounting for 30% of new female cancers each year. Due to the disease’s tragic pervasiveness, the National Cancer Institute predicts that an astounding 43,250 American women are anticipated to die of breast cancer in 2022.

The more people that grasp the disproportionate fear and sickness women experience as a result of breast cancer, the more people this cause may have to fight for research funding and donations.

As an all-girls school that calls its students to serve the dear neighbor without distinction and to prioritize sisterhood in all that we do, Rosary should take this month to reflect on how we can take advantage of our fortunate health and take action against breast cancer for those who cannot. Two methods we may employ to raise awareness are destigmatizing the discussion of this disease and using our own experiences to educate others on the realities of breast cancer.

Breast cancer has affected several women in my own family, including my grandmother Peggy Kern. My grandma was diagnosed with two kinds of breast cancer 15 years ago. Her cancer quickly advanced to Stage 4. As a result, she required a double mastectomy, chemo and radiation, removal of her lymph nodes, surgery on other areas of her body that the cancer had spread to, and treatment from a clinical trial at the University of Pennsylvania. However, thankfully, my grandma managed to overcome every obstacle thrown her way and has remained cancer-free for 10 years now!

When asked about what feelings and lessons her arduous trial left her with, my grandma graciously shared, “I figured out that something was wrong because I could feel lumps in my breasts that I hadn’t noticed before; I had even been to the doctor a week before, and he didn’t notice anything was wrong. I went for a mammogram and an ultrasound, and both came back normal. However, even though the tests and doctors said everything was fine, I knew something was wrong and that I had to be my own advocate. Because I stood up for myself and pushed for an MRI, I figured out what was wrong and got treatment right away.”

Rosary’s own Mrs. Flati has similarly been impacted by this terrible disease, with her mother developing and overcoming breast cancer fairly recently:

“I will never forget the moment my mother asked me to feel a small lump she’d noticed on her breast. It was small but certainly there. I recall a scary thought crossing my mind and internally telling myself not to freak out because that would freak her out. I did my best to simply say she should have it checked out asap. Within a few weeks of that passing exchange she had her biopsy results and they were positive for stage 2 breast cancer.

She received the best prognosis possible, she weighed her treatment options and decided to have a double mastectomy even though there was only one breast affected. The care that she received at City of Hope was great, and she has been in remission for the last 6 years.”

Ms. Flati also affirmed that, though not everyone may not be directly affected by it, breast cancer is an issue that all must acknowledge, stating, “Breast cancer awareness is something everyone needs to care about.”

Supporting those affected by breast cancer can come in various forms and should continue well before or beyond October. For example, donations to charities like the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Living Beyond Breast Cancer funds research that could eventually provide a cure, supports affected patients in their physical and emotional turmoil, and lends aid to those that have lost loved ones to the disease. Additionally, volunteering with organizations like the Young Survival Coalition encourages advocacy for those made vulnerable by breast cancer and spreads awareness on the medical and mental trauma patients undergo.

In both of these and countless other ways, it is critical for us to take advantage of our health and agency to aid our fellow women in the fight against breast cancer, to keep them in our thoughts and prayers, and to continue to spread awareness as agents of kindness, progress, and solidarity.