Mudgee will take on a rosy hue in October, as the town becomes the first in Australia to turn pink for the whole of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
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From Australia Post to St John’s Anglican Church, everyone from florists to stock and station agents will be helping to “Pink Up Mudgee”.
Mudgee residents will be encouraged to wear pink, eat pink treats or have a hit with a pink tennis ball.
But behind the fun and fundraising for the McGrath Foundation is a serious message.
According to the first McGrath Breast Health Index, only 15 per cent of Australian women fully understand the risk factors associated with breast cancer and how to identify signs of the disease.
Although 73 per cent of women who took part in the study considered themselves to be “breastaware”, only one in 10 identified the risk factors for breast cancer.
These are: Being a woman, growing older, having a family history of breast cancer, being a smoker, drinking alcohol, and starting menstruation earlier or menopause later.
CEO McGrath Foundation Petra Buchanan said with the amount of information available about breast awareness, it’s easy to assume that women have a high, and accurate, understanding of their breast health.
However the study results show that there is a substantial number of women who are confident in their ability to recognise changes, but are armed with incorrect information about what actually causes breast cancer.
While the research was conducted among women only, the McGrath Foundation provides education aimed at young women and men in Australia.
While breast cancer predominantly affects women, with 15,934 women expected to be diagnosed in 2016 alone, approximately 150 men in Australia are also diagnosed each year.
Given the Mid-Western Region’s support of the McGrath Foundation in previous year, the “Pink Up Mudgee” campaign will undoubtedly be successful as a fundraiser and in raising awareness of breast cancer.
Hopefully, it will also encourage more people to take action by learning more about the risk factors associated with breast cancer and by booking an appointment with the BreastScreen Van when it returns to Mudgee in November.
Photo courtesy of Amber Hooper, The Mudgee Project.
