Breast Cancer Awareness Month media coverage

Laura Crowden

October is Australia’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness and show support for all Australians affected by breast cancer.  Breast cancer receives increased media attention during October and BCNA is thrilled to have received a lot of high-profile media coverage over the past few days.

Last night, Channel 10’s The Project ran a special story on secondary breast cancer.  The powerful story looked specifically at the unique challenges faced by women with a secondary diagnosis of breast cancer.  BCNA community liaison Denice Basanelli and her husband Mike shared their story and BCNA board member and medical oncologist Fran Boyle provided expert information. Jacques Stap, who last year lost his partner Nicole to breast cancer and recently finished his motorcycle ride around Australia to raise funds for BCNA, also shared his experience.  The story is available to watch online and starts at the 1:30 minute mark. 

Body+Soul, the health supplement which runs nationally across all News Ltd papers on Sundays, published a special breast cancer issue this weekend. The special edition featured many articles on breast cancer, with the majority tied in with or mentioning BCNA.  All articles are available to read online - links below.

Cancer guilt: why Mum’s feel it looked at the different emotions experienced by mothers and daughters following a breast cancer diagnosis.  BCNA members Nikki Dwyer, Katrina Richardson, and mother and daughter Moria Washington and Rikki Jones were all interviewed, along with Nikki’s mum Deanne and Katrina’s teenage daughter Hannah.  The story also featured interviews with health professionals Professor Judy Kirk and Jane Fletcher, both strong supporters of BCNA. 

Found a lump? outlined what women should do if they find a change in their breast and included advice from GP and BCNA Clinical Advisor Dr Julie Thompson.  It also featured Heather McAlpine, a newly trained BCNA community liaison.

Two other BCNA members – Tonya Mercer and Melissa Philp were featured in This is what breast cancer taught me, and both highlighted the help available from BCNA after diagnosis. 

Collaborative treatments proven best practice for breast cancer discussed the benefits of multidisciplinary care for breast cancer and interviewed BCNA board member and breast surgeon Professor Christobel Saunders.  It also refereed women to BCNA for advice. 

BCNA’s My Care Kit was also profiled in the Body+Soul, with various other mentions of BCNA throughout the special edition. 

Sydney Morning Herald also published two in-depth stories around breast cancer over the weekend.

On Saturday, the SMH ran A tough decision to beat a frightening threat about a woman with a very strong family history of breast cancer who chose to have a prophylactic double mastectomy.  The story interviewed Professor Judy Kirk, who will be speaking on breast cancer and family history at BCNA’s upcoming Strength to Strength conference in Sydney later this month. 

The following day the Sun Herald (the Sunday version of SMH) published Support scarce when cancer returns about the limited support available for women with secondary breast cancer.  The excellent story mentioned BCNA’s revised Hope & Hurdles pack for women with secondary breast cancer. BCNA member Kirsty Smith was interviewed and photographed for the story, along with BCNA CEO Maxine Morand and Fran Boyle, a BCNA board member and medical oncologist.

Thank you to all the women and health professionals involved in the media coverage.  We hope to see even more throughout October to further raise awareness of breast cancer and the support BCNA provides.

Laura

[Deleted User]

Hi Laura,

There are some really powerful stories amongst this media coverage. Thank you for putting them all together and sharing them.

~Daina

 

Dancing with Ned 2002

Thanks to all who shared their stories...means a lot.

helen anne

Congratulations to all who participated in these media events - I think they are inspiring.

cheers

H