One Voice & One Choice Prevents Breast Cancer
Like a lot of seniors in college, I wish time would slow down just a little… Though I feel like we just started the semester, October has already arrived. As the air gets cooler and we are finally forced to accept that the summer months are sadly over, I am reminded of the things I love about this time of year. Looking beyond football games, apple picking, and Halloween – to me, October is a time of change. As we transition from summer to fall, what better time to make some changes in our personal choices, as well.
As you may know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. At Protect Our Breasts, this month is so important to us because it is an opportunity to shed light on a disease that has affected so many of us. It’s also a time for us to seriously think about what we can do to change the statistic that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in the course of their lifetime. Awareness is incredibly important, but prevention is key. This month, we are focusing on the power of one voice to influence one choice to purchase a safer alternative product, free of endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can contribute to breast cancer.
Our “One Voice & One Choice” campaign will highlight the voices of prominent community members at our chapter locations throughout the Northeast. They will share their perspectives on breast cancer and the toxic chemicals in products found on the grocery store shelves. The voices of these individuals, whether they are professors, doctors, nurses, or advocates, can influence change. Just one voice has the power to influence one person to phase out one chemical. With this new understanding, this one person has the chance to influence one of her friends – and so the cycle continues. At Protect Our Breasts, our goal is to initiate this process in order to empower our friends and families to make a safer choice to prevent breast cancer later in life.
Suddenly, this issue doesn’t seem quite so daunting. All it takes is the decision to start, however small the first step is. This October, we hope you’ll join us as we work to empower our friends and family in the prevention of breast cancer – one voice (and one choice) at a time.
Make sure to follow our campaign on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to learn more about the choices you can make to avoid toxic chemicals that contribute to breast cancer!
Bianca Tamaskar is a senior Operations & Information Management and Computer Science major at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst and second year National Executive Board member of Protect Our Breasts.
