Luncheon to promote breast cancer awareness

October 18, 2006 is Breast Cancer Prevention and Awareness Day in Georgia. To celebrate this event, North Health District will host a luncheon on Wednesday, October 18 at Gainesville Civic Center to promote awareness of breast cancer in women and men. "Breast cancer not only affects the person with cancer, but also those who are close to them. Our goal is to increase awareness about breast

cancer in both men and women, so that residents in our area can protect themselves and their families," said Anderson Flen, Health Educator. "Our theme for the luncheon is, Breast Cancer, A Family Affair."

In keeping with the theme, featured speakers will include oncology medical professionals, breast cancer survivors, children of breast cancer survivors, spouses of breast cancer survivors, and clergy involved in counseling breast cancer survivors.

The luncheon will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Gainesville Civic Center, Grand Ball Room. The public is invited to attend, but must register by calling 770-535-5743. There is a $25.00 registration fee per person and the deadline for registering is 4:00 p.m. on October 11. Checks should be made to Hall County Board of Health. The registration fee is tax deductible.

More than 1,100 women in Georgia will die this year from breast cancer according to the Department of Human Resources and the American Cancer Society. Men, while not as widely affected as women, can still get the disease. It is estimated that about 1 in every 100 cases of breast cancer is in men. Because male breast cancer is somewhat uncommon, it is not usually detected until it is in a more advance stage. Many people are unaware that breast cancer can occur in males, however all types of breast cancer that happen in women can take place in men.

Everyone is encouraged to learn more about breast cancer and how to check for signs of the disease. For more information please visit: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/h ome/index.asp

http://www.cancer.gov/canc e r i n f o / w y n t k / b r e a s t http://www.breastcancer.org/ http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbcc e d p / http://health.state.ga.us/programs/ cancer/index.asp