breast cancer awareness
Byrne battles back against cancerBY MENNA ABDEL-SALAM ON OCTOBER 10, 2014
Ever since 1985, October has been Breast Cancer Awareness Month. During this annual campaign, people try to raise awareness for breast cancer in order to encourage others to take steps to detect the disease in its early stages. Health Sciences teacher Angie Byrne is getting involved with Breast Cancer Awareness Month and has decided to help out the women in her community who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and who are receiving treatments.
In May 2014, Byrne was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer and had a mastectomy a month later to remove the tumor. “It was surprising to hear the news, especially since I had just had a mammogram done only a few months earlier, and everything seemed to be normal,” Byrne said. Byrne has been going through extensive chemotherapy every week and will have another surgery in December, followed by radiation treatments. Although she is battling an aggressive form of cancer, she is also reaching out to the community by helping others fight their own battles as well. “I have started selling ‘Screw Cancer’ car decals as a fundraiser to gain profits and help other women in the community who are fighting cancer as well,” Byrne said. There are two kinds of decals that are being sold; one with Byrne’s name written on the top and one without. Both varieties will be sold at a price of $8 for locals and $9 if sent in the mail. All the money collected will be sent out to women who need treatment for breast cancer but cannot afford it. Currently, Byrne has sold more than 400 car decals and hopes to sell more in the future. If any students, faculty or staff are interested in buying a decal, they can go to Byrne’s classroom and ask for an order form or they can e-mail Byrne and order the decals online. Byrne has also created a blog website which can also be used to order the decals. The website can be found at http://screwcancer2014.wordpress.com/. Besides Byrne’s fundraising activities, senior Christina Turner is also reaching out to women with breast cancer. “For my senior project, I decided that I would sell pink cupcakes in honor of breast cancer awareness, and all the money I get from it will be donated to Mrs. Byrne and other women who are diagnosed,” Turner said. Turner is selling each individual cupcake for $2, and 3 cupcakes for $5. “When I heard about Mrs. Byrne’s decals and how the money was benefiting women with breast cancer, it really made me happy, and I knew that I wanted to do something similar for my senior project,” Turner said. Cupcake orders will be taken by Turner, and she will occasionally bring a dozen with her to school on Mondays and Fridays. Likewise, Byrne will be selling and accepting order forms for decals at any time in order to keep the fundraiser active. Though Breast Cancer Awareness Month is typically meant to warn women about the early symptoms of cancer and how to treat it, Turner and Byrne will spend this month trying to help the women who have already been diagnosed and are being treated. “I just think no matter what the fundraiser is, it means the most if it comes from the heart,” Byrne said. “Because there’s honestly nothing better than helping others and knowing you’re making a difference in someone’s life.” |
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