F#ck Cancer!: Campaign to Involve Young People in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
Angelo Merendino lost his wife, Jennifer Merendido, to breast cancer on December 22, 2011. She was diagnosed just five months after they married, at the age of 39, and she spent a majority of her marriage fighting for her life. Prior to her departure, Jennifer gave her husband permission to capture the daily struggles of her breast cancer battle in photographs, as a tribute. The images captured tension, pain, and loving embraces, while working to create a dialogue about cancer. He's since used the photographs to benefit breast cancer initiatives; including a non-profit he created to honor his wife.
Unfortunately, Angelo and Jennifer's story is one of many. He lost his wife as many will lose wives, sisters, daughters, mothers and grandmothers, as breast cancer continues to be the second leading cause of death for women in America.
F#ck Cancer! is an ambitious campaign, and declaration, which hopes to put an end to cancer by inviting more people to join the fight. The movement was created with the intention of involving young people, and encouraging them to act against cancer, particularly breast cancer. F#ck Cancer!'s goal is to create an online community, a network of individuals who are able to donate their time and skills to the cause, as well as stories about friends and family who were lost to cancer. The sharing of talents and stories will help to increase awareness.
The importance of creating awareness is that it pushes unsuspecting women (and men) to get examinations, which is a crucial first step. 90 percent of all cancers are curable in stage one. Being aware of one's body and recognizing early warning signs can literally be the difference between life and death. One in eight (12 percent) women in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer in their lifetime; and in 2013, alone, 39,620 women are expected to die from breast cancer. So, it's important to take not of risk factors, risks and potential symptoms.
Some risk factors related to breast cancer are: a history of breast cancer in the family; women 55 or older: having a period before 12 and menopause after 55; having children later in life; obesity or being overweight: drinking two or more alcoholic beverages daily; and not getting regular exercise.
Symptoms include: nipple discharge; inversion of the nipple or other changes to the nipple; a lump under the arm, breast or collar bone; changes to the surface of the breast; pain or tenderness that hasn't eased; and dimpling, thickening or scaliness.
Changes to one's breasts can be confirmed through breast cancer self-exams; which is responsible for uncovering 70 percent of breast cancer cases, and with early detection, the five year survival rate is 98 percent.
"Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer. The chance that breast cancer will be responsible for a woman's death is about one in 36 (about 3 percent). Death rates from breast cancer have been declining since about 1989, with larger decreases in women younger than 50. These decreases are believed to be the result of earlier detection through screening and increased awareness, as well as improved treatment," reported cancer.org.
While these symptoms could turn out to benign after further investigation, it's so important that people not only take their own health seriously, but feel a sense of responsibility about other people's health. Responsibility means sharing information regarding breast cancer awareness, encouraging friends to conduct self-examines, and donating time and money toward the worthy cause.
The F#ck Cancer! Project is currently collecting donations from $1-$300, offering perks such as a Facebook shoutout, a poster, a sticker, a desktop wallpaper pack, breast cancer T-shirt, a totem bag, a calendar, a breast cancer awareness pillow, a breast cancer awareness mug, and an iPhone cover.
The The F#ck Cancer! campaign page on Indiegogo was created by a concerned citizen by the name of Juan Gil.