get involved: fashion targets breast cancer
Breast cancer. It affects 1 in 9 of us in Australia alone, making it the highest diagnosed cancer among women in this country. You’d be forgiven to think that this is a disease that strikes older women. Older women who have already ‘lived their lives’; older women who have had children and whose breasts have already met gravity; older women who, obviously, don’t take enough care of themselves. It surely couldn’t happen to a fit, young woman like yourself, right?
The sad statistic is that 13% of all breast cancers diagnosed annually in Australia are in women under the age of 40—that’s a whopping 700 cases a year!—proving that breast cancer doesn’t discriminate; it could hit any one of us.
And young women, just like us, face very different issues than older sufferers when battling the disease, such as early menopause, and relationship and career difficulties.
The Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC) campaign, now in its second year, aims to raise awareness and funds for research into breast cancer in young women aged 25-39.
A National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) initiative, FTBC has joined forces with seven of Australia’s top fashion labels to design a range of black and white pieces to sell across the country between August and December 2011.
Priced from $10 to $270, the collection is available exclusively at Cotton On Body, Cue, Metalicus, Peeptoe, Seafolly, Secrets and Seduce stores Australia-wide, and includes swimwear, accessories, underwear, shoes and clothing, encouraging women to wear their support. 25% of the proceeds from each sale will go directly to FTBC and their fight. In 2010, FTBC raised over $200,000 for breast cancer research. Their goal in 2011 is to fight for zero breast-cancer related deaths by 2030.
‘The biggest contribution you can make’, says CEO of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Carol Renouf, ‘is by looking for the range in stores from August – you can change a life just by adding to your wardrobe.’
As well as raising awareness through fashion and entertainment related events (beginning with FTBC’s first runway parade at Sydney Fashion Week in August), FTBC also has the support of 10 high profile fashionistas including Lara Bingle, Mink Sadowsky, Gail Elliot, Zoe Naylor, Johdi Meares, Pip Edwards, Erika Heynatz, Anneliese Seubert and Natalie Gruzlewski.
Long-term supporter of FTBC and McCleod’s Daughters beauty, Zoe Naylor, says, ‘One of my best friends was diagnosed with Stage Four. She was 41, had two small kids and a successful career. I watched her from the day she was diagnosed and through the entire journey. She’s still alive. Last year I was able to invite my girlfriend to the launch of FTBC where I was MC. It was a real coming full circle being able to share such a fantastic campaign with her.’
Model and budding fashion designer, Gail Elliott, comments: ‘This [campaign] is very important because it brings awareness at an early stage to girls and women. If you know early on that you could possibly have breast cancer, you’re more likely to survive; you can do something about it.’
Visit http://www.fashiontargetsbreastcancer.org.au for more information.
(Image kindly provided by The Mint Partners on behalf of the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Fashion Targets Breast Cancer.)
Personally being affected by the disease, i would just like to say how wonderful it is of everyone raising money.
In respect to fashion, very important, some manufacturers do not realise there a a lot of ladies out there who have been touched by breast cancer, that cannot buy there clothes, and so they need to do some research and cater for them.
Josephine your story is very touching and of course it made me cry.