Ladies in Pink raise funds for breast cancer awareness

Poornima Koonath

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in Australia. On average, eight women die from breast cancer every day in Australia. One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Improvements in survival are attributed to earlier detection of breast cancer through regular mammograms and improved treatment outcomes for breast cancer. Finding breast cancer early increases the chance of surviving the disease.

Rekha Rajvanshi and Sue Advani, both breast cancer survivors know firsthand how lucky they are to have detected cancer early and so they host the Pink Ribbon Breakfast event annually to spread the message of early detection to their friends. On Sunday, 14 October, Rekha and Sue held a Pink Ribbon Breakfast event at Parravilla Function Centre and invited their friends to a morning of delicious food, fun and fundraising at the same time raising awareness of benefits of early detection.

Rekha initiated the Pink Ribbon Breakfast in 2010 and Sue joined her in 2012. Since then the duo has been holding the breakfast annually. This year they raised $5500 for National Breast Cancer Foundation a leading national body which funds game changing breast cancer research.

The aim of the National Breast Cancer Foundation is Zero deaths from Breast Cancer by 2030—saving lives through detecting tumours earlier and improving treatment outcomes. Funds for research conducted by NBCF is entirely raised by the Australian Public.

At the event, Dr Rosy Khuma provided a wonderful insight into the benefits of a good diet and exercise and simple tips on self-examination. Anita Sharma, Chandni Ravi and Meena Mohanty provided lived experiences on their cancer survival journey. Shantha Vishwanathan from Pink Sari project spoke on the extensive work that has been undertaken to uplift breast cancer screening rates within the subcontinent community. Shikha Kaushik and her team arranged an entertaining fashion show. Bharti Gidwani, Shirley Jacob and Kamini Sahni helped with raffles and bingo with numerous prizes donated by the supporting community.

The event received Bipartisan support from Dr Geoff Lee, State Member for Parramatta, Julie Owens, Federal Member for Parramatta, Jodi McKay, Member for Strathfield, Julia Finn, State member for Granville, Durga Owens representing Michelle Rowland, Federal Member for Greenway and Councillor Reena Jethi.

Breastscreen NSW provides free screening mammograms for women between the ages of 50 and 74 in New South Wales. To book a free breast screen contact 132050. You can also book online. Breastscreen facilities are also available at David Jones Sydney and Myers at Parramatta.