Breast cancer affects us all. Everyone probably has more experience than they would like with this disease. We also know about the power of pink.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This year, you can participate in a virtual event to Toast to a Cure.
On October 1st, at 8:00 EST/ 5:00 PST pm, raise a glass with friends a Toast to a Cure to bring about awareness. This national virtual event is being hosted by Cleavage Creek Winery, dedicated to making fine wines and funding breast cancer research.
Do you know the story about Cleavage Creek? Cleavage Creek Winery owner Budge Brown lost his wife of 48 years to breast cancer. To honor her memory, raise awareness, and fight the disease, his era of Cleavage Creek wine was born in 2007. Cleavage Creek donates 10% of the gross sales of all wines to fund Breast Cancer research ~ that’s before profit. Over $72,000 has been donated in the Budge Brown era of Cleavage Creek. Each bottle of Cleavage Creek wine displays an actual breast cancer survivor on the label and her story is told on the Cleavage Creek website. The Cleavage Creek motto is “Live to love life.”
In 2009, the Integrative Oncology Research Center opened in the Seattle, WA area. Cleavage Creek Winery provided the funding to establish the Center at Bastyr University. The Center was founded to improve the quality of life of individuals living with cancer, reduce the risk of cancer recurrence, and track the effectiveness of complementary, alternative and integrative therapies in treating the disease.
In August 2010, $3.1 million was donated by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) to the Integrative Oncology Research Center and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. This grant will officially fund a project titled “Breast Cancer Integrative Oncology: Prospective Matched Controlled Outcomes Study.” It is believe to be the only study of its kind in the U.S. At the end of this study, it is expected that more info will be known about the most effective treatments for breast cancer. This is a ground breaking comparative study because more data will be available for breast cancer patients, giving them a broader scope of treatment options.
So, this Friday, gather your friends together so that you can Toast to a Cure. You can share your event details and pictures on Twitter and Facebook. Hopefully this event will help be a reminder to do a self-exam, take a friend of family member for a check-up, or honor the courage of those who have braved breast cancer.
Women in Business through our NAWMBA chapter here at Virginia Tech will be gathering this Friday downtown. You can find us on Facebook if you would like to know more.
Thank you to Laura Kirkham who brought this great event to my attention.
