Buddy Check 9 Promotes Breast Self Awareness

Buddies,
Good breast health begins with early detection. That includes self-exams. Buddy Check Nine and Georgetown University Hospital have produced a new breast self-exam D-V-D.
Minna Manalo is featured in the video. I interviewed Minna, a certified breast health specialist at Georgetown, on 9 News Now at 9AM.
To see my entire interview with Minna Manalo click here.

And to request your FREE Buddy Check 9 Breast Health kit, with a breast self exam D-V-D, call the Lombardi CancerLine at 202-444-4000

Gearing Up For The Komen 3-Day

Hundreds of women and men in our area are already in training for a grueling event aimed at saving lives. I'm talking about the Komen Breast Cancer 3-day. This year's race is October 3-5, 2008.
Jenne Fromms from Komen for the Cure joined me on 9News Now @ 9AM to encourage viewers to get up and sign up to help save lives. Also joining me on set, Channel Nine colleague, Amy Leone, to talk about her experiences walking the Breast Cancer 3-Day a few years ago in Tampa, FL and why she is doing it again in October.
To see the full interview click here.


To register for the DC Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day click here

If you have walked the Komen 3-Day, please share your experiences here on my Blog.
And remember, something you do or say could help another relative, friend, or Buddy

What Your Hair Says About Your Breast Cancer Risk

Only your hair dresser knows for sure and now maybe your doctor when it comes to your risk for breast cancer.
A study published in the International Journal of Cancer finds that the hair from women with breast cancer can be distinguished from the hair of women who don't have the disease.
This is a very limited study but it is interesting. If you'd like to read the full story click here

And share your thoughts on the study.
Remember, something you say or do may help a relative, a friend or another Buddy.

Urgent Need for Minority Marrow Donors

A comment about the need for more people of color to join the Marrow Donor Registry---I received this letter from Hal Wilkins.

My name is Hal Wilkins, a colleague of Mrs. Gina Boyd whom you met at the HHS Black History Month Program on Wednesday, February 13, 2008.
Gina informed me of your support of her minority recruitment efforts for the National Marrow Donor Program. She suggested I contact you about the urgent need for African American blood donors. The NIH is currently in great need for more donors from the African American community to support the NIH Sickle Cell Disease Red Cell Exchange Program.

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder affecting more than 70,000 people in the United States. The majority of these patients are of African ancestry. People with sickle cell disease have red blood cells containing an abnormal type of hemoglobin, the substance that carries oxygen to the rest of the body. There is no cure, but blood transfusions from compatible donors help to manage and prevent the pain, strokes, organ damage, and other complications that accompany the condition.

One in six African Americans may be a match for a specific patient. The NIH Sickle Cell Disease Red Cell Exchange Program is a unique opportunity for African Americans to make a profound difference in the lives of patients with sickle cell disease.

Your assistance with informing our community about the need for blood donation would be invaluable in helping to find suitable donors for our patients.

Donations can be made by calling the NIH Blood Bank at 301-496-1048 to schedule an appointment.

Thank you for your kind attention,

Hal Wilkins
Recruitment Supervisor
Department of Transfusion Medicine
National Institutes of Health
Building 10, Room 1C-713B
Bethesda, MD 20892
Tel 301-496-4321
Fax 301-402-1360
HWilkins@cc.nih.gov

Please share your experiences about giving or receiving a marrow donation. Something you say or do could help a relative, friend or another Buddy.

Pink-Link Reminder

Good Morning,

Received this note from Pink-Link.org Founder Victoria Tashman. It's an out of town event, but if you're in the Los Angeles area in April, this might be of interest to you.

The UCLA Live Strong Survivorship Center of Excellence Annual Cancer Survivor Education Day.
Saturday, April 5th 9:30am - 5:30pm. Learn about the latest research on survivorship issues from internationally known researchers and physicians.
For more information, click here. To register for the event, click here.

Thank you Vicki for sharing.
And remember, something you say or do may help another Buddy.

Buddy, We Need Your Marrow

Every chance I get, I try to raise awareness among women and men about the importance of Early Detection and Prevention in the fight against Breast Cancer.

But at a Black History Month Program, sponsored by the Department of Health & Human Services in Rockville, Md, my awareness was raised about the critical need for Bone Marrow Donors, specifically minority donors.

Did you know that on any given day more than 6,000 men, women and children are searching the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry for a life-saving donor like you?

Former First Lady of the District of Columbia, Effie Barry, died last year before a suitable match could be made. And this month, OSCAR nominated JAWS actor Roy Scheider, also died of a blood disease.

It took less than 10-minutes for me to register as a bone marrow donor today. I filled out the paperwork with the help of Gina Boyd of the National Institutes of Health's Marrow Registration Program. Her father died of a blood disease while waiting for a donor.

If I am lucky enough to make a match, I could provide hope to a family and possibly help cure a child, a young mother, father, or your friend suffering from leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases that can be treated by a bone marrow or cord blood transplant.

To learn more about being a bone marrow donor click here.

Or call 1-800-MARROW-2

Special thanks to EEO Specialist Kay Nitta for inviting me to be a guest speaker for the Black History Month porgram.

Please Be My Valentine Buddy

Dear Valentine,

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

In my 20s, I will love thee enough to perform monthly breast self exams. I know my body when it's healthy. By doing monthly BSE, I will be the first to notice any changes. If I don't know how to correctly perform a Breast Self Exam, I will click on the new BSE video on the Buddy Check 9 web page.

In my 40s, I will love thee enough to start annual mammograms. If there is a family history of breast cancer, I will ask my doctor about a baseline mammogram in my 30s or an MRI and pursue genetic counseling.

I will love thee enough to have a doctor or nurse practitioner check my breast as part of my regular physical.

I will do all of these things because I love you. If you love me, you will practice Early Detection too.

If we Screen Together, we will Live Together to celebrate many more Valentines.

To get a Guide To Preventable Cancers from the Prevent Cancer Foundation click here

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!

MODERN MOM Interviews Andrea Roane

Where can you find a Q & A with Dr. Oz and a profile of yours truly, ANDREA ROANE? Why on the pages of the Loudoun County Spring 2008 edition of MODERN MOM.
Last year, Hulya Aksu, founding publisher, asked me to answer questions for an upcoming article in the magazine. I was delighted to contribute and the result is in the Age Issue on Page 16. It's titled Andrea Roane: Ageless Work-In-Progress. I really like that! Thank you Hulya and continued success with the magazine.

To get a FREE copy of the Spring 2008 Modern Mom Magazine, call 703-9009 or go to the Modern Mom website at http://www.iammodern.com/

Let me know what you think.

A Buddy from NC Shares Info On A New Cancer Tool

Got an email from Buddy Sarah who is waging a tough fight against breast cancer. Though Sarah is currently living in North Carolina she used to live in the metro area. Sarah heard about this report from a Pennsylvania station and thought it would be of interest to the Buddies in her old hometown.

It's about a massive new tool in the fight against cancer. The report deals with the arrival of a CYCLOTRON at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in Philadelphia. The CYCLOTRON's Proton-beam therapy is more targeted, more effective and does less harm to healthy tissues than the radiation most facilities now use in cancer treatment. To see the full report on the CYCLOTRON click here

Thanks Sarah for sharing. And what about the rest of you? Remember something you say or do may help another Buddy

Introducing Lombardi's New Director

This morning on 9 News Now @ 9AM, my co-anchor Mike Walter interviewed the new director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Hospital.

Dr. Louis M. Weiner is an internationally recognized medical oncologist with 25-years in cancer immunology research.

As director of LCCC, Dr. Weiner told 9 NEWS NOW how he intends to translate laboratory research discoveries into better, more targeted treatments for cancer patients.

To see Dr. Weiner's entire interview click here

To receive a Buddy Check 9 Breast Health Packet call the Lombardi CancerLine at 202-444-4000.

And to see how to correctly perform a Breast Self Exam, click on Buddy Check at http://www.wusa9.com/ or check out the BSE HOW TO on my Buddy Blog.

Let me know what you think and share your experiences too. Something you say or do may save another Buddy.

CHOOSING HEALTH OVER BREASTS

It's a choice former CBS News Anchor Rene Syler made to avoid a breast cancer diagnosis after several painful biopsies.
But more and more women are choosing to have both breasts removed to avoid a recurrance of breast cancer.
The process is called a prophylactic mastectomy or a double mastectomy.
About 4-and-a-half percent of breast cancer patients are choosing this option.
That's a 150 percent jump in the last ten years.
It allows women not to worry about the cancer coming back.
Some doctors disagree with the choice - calling it a high price to pay for peace of mind. But Dr. Scott Spear of Georgetown University Hospital says "Although it sounds terrible, the data for prophylactic mastectomies is that its preventability is about 95%. So, if you're a woman who's at high risk for getting breast cancer because of your family history or because of gene testing you can reduce your risk by 95%."
To see why Hilda Scharen , at age 39, made the difficult choice click here.

If you've had a prophylactic mastectomy, share your story. Something you say or do may help another Buddy.
Andrea

Breast Self Exam How To

Since 1993, Buddy Check 9 has been reminding women and men that Early Detection saves lives.
One of the three keys to good breast health is the Breast Self Exam, beginning by age 20. The thought being, if a women knows her breasts when they are healthy, she will be the first to notice a change in the breast. However, many women tell me they don't know how to perform a Breast Self Exam. Well, no more excuses. Buddy Check 9 and the Georgetown University Hospital have produced a video showing you the correct steps to follow to examine your breasts.
To view the Buddy Check 9 Breast Self Exam click here.

Please share this video with your Buddy and share your stories with me.
Something you say or do can help another Buddy

Komen & 9 NEWS NOW Race Day Buddies in 2008

The apostle Paul wrote "...affliction produces endurance, and endurance proven character, and proven character hope, and hope does not disappoint..."
The Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure is all about hope and it never disappoints. It is one of the most life affirming events I have ever been associated with since I began reporting Buddy Check 9 in 1993. Now, I am thrilled to let you know that 9NEWS NOW has again been chosen to be the primary television sponsor for the 2008 Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure. Mark your calendars now! Race day is Saturday, June 7th. The 19th annual Washington, DC Race is one of the largest of its kind in the country. The race helps raise awareness and millions of dollars for education and research. At least one million dollars is earmaked for breast cancer programs right here in our Metro area.
I was an M-C at last year's race and what a sight is was to look out on that sea of people. About 45-thousand of you running, walking , rolling for the cure. Let's top 50-thousand this year. Help keep the promise.
Share your stories from last year's race right here on my BLOG.
Something you say or do may help another Buddy.
Andrea