October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

It's October and that means it's breast cancer awareness month. In honor of the month Three-hundred pink bras and hundreds of tiny pink lights are dangling from the trees outside ‘Ohana Mammography Center. The awareness and fundraising campaign aims to remind women about the importance of self-exams and mammograms and encourages local support for breast cancer services.  All this month, you can stop by ‘Ohana at 1515 W. Yakima Ave. to contribute to the foundation’s Breast Cancer Fund or visit keepsupportlocal.org to make a donation online. The Breast Cancer Fund provides scholarships for mammograms for women in need and helps pay for vital diagnostic equipment. In the past, money raised for the fund has helped to pay for a digital mammography machine and 3D ultrasound equipment, among other things. The campaign also aims to remind women about the need for self-exams and mammograms. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and an estimated 40,000 women will die from the disease in the United States this year, making breast cancer the second-leading cause of cancer death among women, behind lung cancer. The bras will be taken down from the trees late Wednesday to be donated to the Women’s Resource Center of the YWCA of Yakima. The lights will remain up for the month of October.

For more information, visit yakimamemorial.org.