Breast cancer awareness ... it's not over!

Now that breast cancer awareness month 2011 is history, I'd like to take the opportunity to remind everyone that breast cancer awareness doesn't have to stop in October! The pink products are leaving the grocery stores' shelves, but the reality is that 1 in 8 women are still being diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Women are still dying ... yet more and more women (like myself) are living longer WITH breast cancer, thanks to the huge advances being made in treatment options. This is a direct result of research funding. The funding comes in from awareness campaigns as small as high school "pink out" sport events and as large as Komen Races for the Cure. From yogurt tops to New Balance apparel, it all matters!

I am living proof that however the money is being raised, it's working! I firmly believe that I would not be alive today had I been diagnosed with stage IV instead of stage III cancer in 2000. There simply wasn't as many options back then. Now it's been over 5 years since my stage IV diagnosis, and my doctor tells me that I have many, many options (new drugs) to still try, when my current treatments fail. And the more time that passes, the more there will be!

The Pink Ribbon Shop has made a decision to allocate all of its donatable funds to the MD Anderson Cancer Center. MDA, the #1 place in the country to receive cancer care, is on the forefront of cancer research. Although there are certainly other worthy organizations that we could choose to donate to, we have chosen MD Anderson, because we want to make a difference in the breast cancer research area. We want to be connected to actually finding a cure, by funding research. We want to be a part of MDA's "Making Cancer History!" More information to come as we work on establishing our partnership with MD Anderson -- so exciting!