WBHI to Host 4th Annual Open The Door Reception to Honor Life-Saving Work
February 17, 2011
The Women’s Breast Health Initiative (WBHI) is hosting its fourth annual Open the Door reception set for March 18 at Shula’s Hotel and Golf Club in Miami Lakes, FL from 6 to 9 pm.
The Women’s Breast Health Initiative (WBHI) is hosting its 4th annual Open the Door reception on March 18. The event will take place at Shula’s Hotel and Golf Club in Miami Lakes, FL and proceeds will help fund WBHI’s outreach to educate women about the importance of breast health and to provide the means to beat the disease. With a mission to fight the life-threatening disease of breast cancer one household at a time, the annual Open the Door reception provides critical resources to meet these goals.
More than 300 community and business leaders, along with donors and supporters, are expected to attend the Open the Door reception. It is an excellent networking opportunity hosted in a sophisticated atmosphere featuring a silent and live auction as well as live entertainment, cocktails and an elegant dinner buffet. Highlights of the live auction for this year include:
- The Miami Heat Experience: Honorary Ball Boy with Pre-Game shoot around, including locker room access with the Heat players. This package includes four lower level seats (restrictions apply).�
- The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Extravaganza: 3 days/2 Nights at the world renowned Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club with a foursome of golf on an exclusive course designed by World Golf hall of Famer, Ray Floyd.
You’ll bid on great one-of-a-kind auction items like these and more while you meet and mingle with the women whose lives have been touched by WBHI, the volunteers who help to educate them and the business leaders who help fund this life-saving work.
All funds raised by the Open the Door event will be used to help WBHI save lives and create a world with less breast cancer and more breast health awareness.
Despite the impressive breadth and growth of its mission, this community-based organization runs on a bare bones budget. “Once a year we ask the community to support our grassroots organization by participating in our annual Open the Door reception. We’ve seen such great turnout for this event in the past and it grows every year,” said Andrea Ivory, Founder of WBHI and 2009 Top 10 CNN Hero. “However, it takes the support of the community coming together to serve the women in need in South Florida and beyond.”
The Women’s Breast Health Initiative relies on the generous support of its sponsors to accomplish its mission. WBHI recognizes Don Soffer, Colodny, Fass, Talenfield, Karlinsky, Abate, PA, Ivory Construction, UPS, American Traffic Solutions, Seminole Casualty Insurance, United Automobile Insurance Company, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Parello, AvMed, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Florida Peninsula Insurance Company, Humana, Max South Construction, Hershell Gill Construction Engineering, Landscaping Associates, Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Dunn, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick White, Williamson Automotive and RCC Associates for their support.
Individual tickets to the reception are available for $75 each. For additional information, visit www.flbreasthealth.com or call Stephanie Hoogenbergen at 305-825-4081 for ticket information.
Who: The Women’s Breast Health Initiative
What: Open the Door 4th Annual Reception
Where: Hotel and Golf Club in Miami Lakes, FL �
When: March 18, 6 to 9 pm
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Written by: Kristen Bennett
Young Women and Breast Cancer
February 8, 2011
Understanding hereditary and genetic risk factors
Stephanie Green
On January 9, 2011, Stephanie Green, a Miami-based blogger and writer lost her battle against breast cancer at the young age of 35. Stephanie left behind her blog, a book in the works and numerous other articles and stories that touched thousands of her fans. Stephanie fought to the very end, often using her writing as a way to cope with the disease. A long-time contributor to HEEB magazine, Stephanie was Ashkenazi Jewish and BRCA1 positive. Ashkenazi Jewish women have a one in 40 chance of inheriting the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation. These genes are important in the development of breast cancer. Women with the mutation have up to an 85 percent chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime.
Why do young women get breast cancer?
When referring to a breast cancer diagnosis, “young” typically means anyone under 40 years old because breast cancer is relatively uncommon among women in this age group. In the U.S., about 5 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses occur in women under age 40. Of the women who are diagnosed at a younger age many, like Stephanie, have a mutated BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. If a woman carries a defective BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, she may have a 30 to 85 percent chance of developing breast cancer in her lifetime, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Having an immediate family member who has or had breast cancer also increases the risk of developing breast cancer in young women. So although young women generally have a much lower risk of developing breast cancer, the risk is high for women who have the gene mutation or have family history.
Advice for all young women
Clinical breast exams are recommended for all women at least every three years, starting at age 20, and every year for women age 40 or over. If you are under 40, and have a family history or other known risk factors, talk with your health care provider to assess your risk, and determine a personalized plan of when to start having mammograms or other imaging tests. Diagnosing breast cancer in young women can be harder because of the density of a young woman’s breast tissue. By the time a lump can be felt in a young woman, it is often large enough and advanced enough to lower her chances of survival. In addition, the cancer may be more aggressive and less responsive to hormone therapies. If you are concerned about a genetic risk, you can ask for a referral to a genetic counselor who can provide genetic testing, screening tests, like MRI, or risk reduction options that might be right for you.
In addition to talking with your doctor about your risk, it is equally important to know how your breasts normally look and feel. See your health care provider right away if you notice any of these breast changes:
• Lump, hard knot or thickening
• Swelling, warmth, redness or darkening
• Change in the size or shape of the breast
• Dimpling or puckering of the skin
• Itchy, scaly sore or rash on the nipple
• Pulling in of your nipple or other parts of the breast
• Nipple discharge that starts suddenly
• New pain in one spot that doesn’t go away
Awareness and early detection are two of the most important tools we have to fight breast cancer. For more information on breast self-awareness, visit www.flbreasthealth.com for an online beast health tutorial.
Written by: Kristen Bennett
