National Cancer Survivors Day has come and gone. Our "Cycling to Survive" event was a great success, and I am quite sure that other celebrations around the globe were successful too.
Right now in the United States, there are 14.5 million cancer survivors, and by 2024 there will be 19 million. There are several reasons for this. The age of the population is advancing, and age affects your risk of getting cancer. Furthermore, because of educational efforts, we are catching cancers at earlier stages, which makes it more likely you will survive the disease. Although much more research needs to be done to develop more drugs that will allow cancer survivors to live longer, the drugs that are available are extending life.
There is some fabulous news released recently from Israel. After eight years of research, scientists have developed the first-ever blood test to detect breast cancer. Yahoo! Don't be afraid to jump up and down.
This is a huge step forward for breast cancer – and potentially for all cancers. The process takes less than three hours, allowing a woman's doctor to rule out or confirm breast cancer very quickly. The test is called Octava Pink. It is available now in Israel and Italy. The FDA is currently conducting clinical trials on the blood test before it will be released in this country. You can read the full article about the test here.
I have been invited to attend the annual Congressional Women's Softball Game in Washington, D.C. on June 18th. The event is bi-partisan and raises money for the Young Survival Coalition. This idea was created by Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is a breast cancer survivor herself.
It's a sell-out game, which is good news. The bad news? Breast cancer is attacking younger women at an alarming rate. It used to be that you never heard of a woman in her 20s or 30s being diagnosed with breast cancer, but that is not true today.
I hope that I can be of service in some way to young survivors. I know there are opportunities where I can make a difference in Washington, and I intend to do that.
In honor of National Cancer Survivors Day, please go to my website, where you can choose a way to support our efforts. You can also help me by "liking" the Noreen Fraser Foundation on Facebook, through the link below.
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