44 | October 2011 | woman this month People Julie Sprakel co-founded her charity Think Pink nine years ago. It is a breast cancer charity unique to Bahrain, which means that all the funds raised will be ploughed directly back into this country. October 2011 is international breast cancer awareness month, which means that Julie and her Think Pink team are working tirelessly to organise a range of exciting fundraising activities that we can all take part in. She was generous enough to take some time out of her hectic schedule to talk to Woman This Month about the dangers of late diagnosis, the ways in which we can all help increase awareness in the Gulf and the great variety of activities on offer throughout the month. According to Julie: “what many people don’t realise is that the breast cancer situation in the GCC is very different to that in the West. Woman in the Gulf are getting breast cancer at a younger age. The oncology department at Salmaniya hospital recently revealed that there are many women in Bahrain being diagnosed in stages two and three of breast cancer in their 30s. It is the number one killer of women in the cancers in Bahrain”. She revealed that she has seen cases of breast cancer being diagnosed in women as young as 19 and also brought it to our attention that an increasing number of men are discovering cancerous breast lumps. These statistics are fairly unnerving, but they certainly aren’t enough to spur people into the action needed to prevent and treat breast cancer. For some reason, both men and women are very lax when it comes to breast selfexamination. It is possible that many men believe they are not susceptible to breast cancer, but we women don’t have much of an excuse! Woman This Month recently published a detailed set of instructions pertaining to selfexamination, but the basics include placing one hand, completely flat, against the flesh of your breast and padding around systematically. Poking with extended fingers is not effective. Do this between five to ten days after your period, or at a fixed date each month. “If breast cancer is only caught when it reaches stage two or three, it becomes a much bigger problem to treat and has so many more knock-on effects. It means chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, which are all very demanding on medical resources. It means that the country’s insurance firms also suffer and it will also demand large absences from work whilst patients take prolonged sick leave. This isn’t even to mention the effects that a stage two or three diagnosis can have on family and friends”. So it seems that self examination really is the way forward. If you perform an exam on yourself once a month you will be much more likely to spot lumps before they grow into bigger problems. The more you can do to encourage self-examination among your family and peers, the better. As part of breast cancer awareness month, Julie and her Think Pink team have launched their drive to promote the benefits of selfexamination. They have also arranged an amazing set of fundraising activities. “We are working towards bringing a much-needed digital MRI machine to Bahrain. This machine will help to scan and diagnose breast cancer before it reaches more dangerous stages. We are about 30 per cent of the way there in terms of the money needed and these events throughout October will hopefully help us get much further. All of the money from the events, except the golf days, will go directly into the digital MRI fund. The charity itself will not take a cut. The rest of the money will go into the education fund — which helps Bahraini healthcare professionals to get internationally certified degrees and certificates”. The Think Pink activities include their RCA Pink Walkathon on October 1, in association with the Rotary Club of Adliya. This is a familyfriendly event which, last year, saw many children and even some dogs taking part! Forward The Breast Way Breast cancer cases are springing up in great numbers throughout the Gulf. And it’s not just women who are being diagnosed. Julie Sprakel tells us more… What many people don’t realise is that the breast cancer situation in the GCC is very different to that in the West. There are a wide range of fitness and wellbeing days for you to attend, but the real fun will emerge during some of their late-night festivities. JJ’s are playing host to a Think Pink karaoke night on October 10 and you can always attend the Think Pink party at the Dilmun Club on October 20. If you simply haven’t the time to dedicate to any of these activities, then be sure to at least pick up a Think Pink ribbon from the customer services desks at Bahrain City Centre. For a full list of activities, further advice about breast cancer and information about how you can help please visit www.thinkpinkbahrain. com, www.facebook.com/thinkpinkbahrain or follow them on Twitter @thinkpinkBH.
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