MI SENOS, MI SALUD, MI VIDA - Wednesday 10/10/12

MY BREASTS, MY HEALTH, MY LIFE EVENT
(MI SENOS, MI SALUD, MI VIDA)
CASA LINDA148 Sylvan Avenue, New Haven
OCTOBER 10, 2012
11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

In observance of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut (AASCC), in collaboration with CancerCare and Project HOPE (Hispanic Outreach Program for Elders), will be holding a breast health event for women, My Breasts, My Health, My Life(Mi Senos, Mi Salud, Mi Vida); at Casa Linda, 148 Sylvan Avenue, New Haven, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 10.

The event will be conducted in Spanish to serve monolingual and bilingual Latinas/Hispanic women. Diana Velez, RN, Women’s Health Services, Metropolitan Hospital (HHC) NYC; will discuss keywords and phrases to help women understand terms used in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Zoraida Velazquez, Program Liaison, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP); will discuss nutrition as a preventative measure. Kathy Clemens, RN, Breast Care Coordinator; and Tina Rodriguez, Outreach Educator, MidState Medical Center, who have provided a breast cancer support group for Spanish-speaking women since 2003, will facilitate a question and answer session at the end of the event.

This event requires registration. For additional information and to register for the event, please contact the AASCC Bilingual Community Educator at (203) 785-8533, Ext. 3157 or the CancerCare Latina Outreach Worker at (203) 663-2188.

"GIT YOUR PINK ON" DAY

The Get In Touch Foundation is a global breast “health” organization developed specifically for girls in grades 5-12 to emphasize the importance of educating them on breast self examination. The program teaches girls to “get in touch” with their bodies and has been developed by Get In Touch board members and members of the medical community, as well as focus-groups of girls ages 8-18.


Mary Ann Wasil Nilan is the founder and inspirational leader of The Get In Touch Foundation, which helps young girls learn that self-exams are easy, not embarrassing, lifesaving, and necessary. 

Though the work is year-round, one day each year is National “GIT Your Pink On!” Day. This year we celebrate/ruminate/and educate the community on Friday October 21st. Governor Dannel P. Malloy has honored G.I.T. with an Official Proclamation and this week many companies, large and small, are collecting dollars to provide free Daisy Wheels for girls. The Original Daisy Wheel is a plastic disk, used to teach the following 8 Tips - and for modern type people there is now a Daisy Wheel Application on the iTunes Store that has been downloaded over 1,000 times, in 26 countries, since its launch this summer.

1. BSE Breast Self Exam - Think of your breast as a daisy.
2. Look at your breasts in the mirror – hands on hips – tighten your chest. Anything weird? Discharge, puckering, dimpling?
3. Lying down, firmly press 3 fingers on your breast in a circular motion. Examine each "petal."
4. Apply 3 different levels of pressure – light, medium, firm – with your finger pads to check your breast tissue.
5. Use pressure level (L, M, F) on each "petal" before moving to the next.
6. Start by your armpit and move down to just below your breast, using the same circular motion in an up and down pattern, covering your whole breast. Repeat on other breast.
7. Sitting or standing, raise your arm slightly and use the same circular motions with your finger pads to examine your underarm. (Standing in the shower is a great place to do this!)
8. Did you see or feel something that worries you? Don't be embarrassed – tell your mother, father, sister, grandmother, school nurse, teacher, your BFF! Talk about it – GET IN TOUCH! 

Hope lives!  And so does Mary Ann

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Further PS from facebook - an event on Saturday for Get In Touch Foundation.

"GIT Your Rock On" Rock Painting Contest

Time	Saturday, October 22 · 11:00am - 2:00pm
Location	Gulf Beach Patio
Created By	Joe Meade
More Info	Rock On is sponsoring a rock painting contest to benefit the Get In Touch Foundation. The contest is open to boys and girls age 7-12, bur we encourage people of all ages to participate. The participants will be supplied with paint and brushes to create their art on any rock that they can find on the beach. The suggested donation is $5 per entry. A limit of 2 entries per person. Three prizes for the top winners will be awarded by a panel of judges. Registration begins at 11 am and the contest will run from 11:30 am -1:00 pm. All proceeds will be donated to the Get In Touch Foundation. Rain date is Sunday 10/23.

ICYMI: "8 Things You Shouldn't Say to Someone with Breast Cancer"

Courtesy of Mary Ann Wasil Nilan and the July 2011 Get In Touch Foundation Newsletter

The perfect time to revisit...8 things you should NOT say to someone with breast cancer    

1.  How bad is it?  WHY?  Um...well, for obvious reasons. 

2.  Never leave an e-mail, voice message or text asking questions....ANY questions.  WHY?  Because...yours is probably not the only one that day, and it is just too exhausting (emotionally and physically) to answer everyone - no matter how much we would like to, and no matter how much we appreciate your concern.

3.  Never tell them what YOU want to do to help them.  WHY?  Trust me, what YOU need to do to feel better is probably not what your friend needs to feel better.

4.  What's your prognosis?  WHY?  Sheesh.  Let's try this instead..."what's your protocol?"  Much easier to answer, especially if your friend is too unsure, frightened, unprepared (or all of the above) to discuss what the possible outcome of her cancer might be.

5.  At least you caught it early.  WHY?  Because your idea of early might not be her oncologist's idea of early.

6.  At least it's only breast cancer - it could be worse.  WHY?  Okay, really...do I need to explain this one?

7.  PLEASE don't ever tell us about someone you know who died from breast cancer.  WHY?  Again, for obvious reasons...but, really...it only scares us more than you could ever know - and we know that's not what you want to do.

8.  This too shall pass...there's life after breast cancer.  WHY?  Well, for one, there's life right in the middle of breast cancer; and it just may not pass for anyone dealing with a late-stage-diagnosis. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is...words matter...please choose yours carefully.