Last updated 21 days ago
Catching cancer early is essential to combating the disease. Early detection of many cancers goes hand-in-hand with cancer prevention and education. Cancer research enables doctors and educators to spread awareness of risk factors and signs of cancer. This teaches the public how to protect themselves, including the necessity of early detection.
Education is Key
Knowing the indications of cancer can help you recognize symptoms and lead you to seek a thorough examination from your doctor. Any time you notice something abnormal about your body, it’s a good idea to consult a medical professional. You can also contact a cancer research foundation to explore what common signs precede cancer or are indicative of its presence.
Research Enables Prevention
Early detection is one of the best ways to increase the odds of beating cancer, and detection can be made even earlier with cancer research. By understanding the risks, causes, and other factors involved in the development of this disease, researchers can determine how cancer begins to manifest itself. Researchers may be able to pinpoint even earlier warning signs than those known today. Screenings that detect the presence of certain hormones or other physiological indicators may help catch and treat cancer before it dangerously progresses.
Funding Accelerates Prevention
Funding is vital for research foundations like women’s cancer charities, which use donations to further education, awareness, and research. When people are empowered with knowledge, they are better able to understand when a doctor’s appointment or screenings are necessary. Cancer research is always beneficial toward finding cures and improving treatments.
You can make a difference today with The Colorado BWRC Fund. Visit us online to learn about ways you can help fight cancer, or call us in Highlands Ranch at (800) 511-4998 for more information.
Last updated 28 days ago
DENVER – April 11, 2012 – Colorado taxpayers have until April 17 to checkoff line 37 on their income tax forms and donate to the Breast and Women’s Reproductive Cancers (BWRC) Fund. The voluntary check-off program aims to increase survival, improve early detection, reduce suffering, and improve the quality of life for Coloradans affected by these diseases.
Unfortunately, nearly 1,000 women in Colorado are diagnosed with ovarian, cervical, uterine, and other reproductive cancers each year. Additionally, over 2,800 men and women in Colorado are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. According to 2007 data from the Centers for Disease and Prevention, Colorado is among the 12 states with the highest incidence of cancer. The Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance reports that 81 percent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, and only 30 percent of women who receive a late diagnosis will live five years or more.
The BWRC Fund complements, and does not duplicate, vital cancer services throughout Colorado. Grants are awarded to partnering organizations to provide assistance to individuals who do not qualify for existing programs yet still need help.
In 2011, the BWRC Fund awarded $40,000 in grants to organizations across Colorado to help individuals with breast and women's reproductive cancers by expanding vital education, screening, diagnostic, and quality of life services throughout Colorado.
Individuals that have already filed their taxes can make donations by clicking on the “Donate” button on BWRC Fund’s website.
About the BWRC Fund
The Colorado Breast and Women’s Reproductive Cancers (BWRC) Fund is part of the Checkoff Colorado a voluntary check-off program on the Colorado Income
Tax Form. The goal of the BWRC Fund is to help reduce mortality from breast and women’s reproductive cancers by expanding education, early detection, treatment and quality of life services throughout Colorado.
The BWRC Fund is a signature program of the Colorado Cancer Coalition. For More Information contact Erich Kirshner at 303.921.6733 or by email at erich@kirshnercommunications.com
Last updated 1 month ago
Fighting breast cancer is a difficult experience, but one that hundreds of thousands of women face every year. During treatment, doctors will use many terms to describe your condition and you may not always understand their meanings. This list is by no means comprehensive but will provide you with a good basis of understanding of several cancer key terms.
- Biopsy: when a small section of a tumor is removed and sent to a histopathologist to be analyzed and establish a precise diagnosis.
- Malignant: a cancerous tumor that can grow uncontrollably and may spread to other parts of the body.
- Benign: a type of tumor that is unlikely to grow or spread.
- Localized: a tumor that is in a single site.
- Metastases: a tumor that has spread to other parts of the body from the primary site.
- Carcinoma: the most common form of cancer. Carcinoma develops is sheets that cover a surface, as with skin, or line a body cavity.
- Sarcoma: a rare form of cancer that develops in supportive and connective tissues like bone, muscle, and fat.
- Staging: a way of describing cancer in terms of how far it has spread. “T” is used to describe the size of the tumor in millimeters, “N” states whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, and “M” shows whether the cancer cells have metastasized in other organs. For example, a melanoma T2N0M0 describes a skin tumor that is 1-2 mm in thickness but has not spread to the lymph nodes and has not metastasized.
- Prognosis: the expected outcome of treatment.
- Complete resection: when a tumor is completely removed with surgery.
- Radiotherapy/radiation: when radiation is used to destroy cancer cells.
- Chemotherapy: when chemicals are used to treat cancer cells.
- Tumor markers: substances the body produces in response to the presence of a tumor in the body.
If you would like to support women undergoing cancer treatment, then call The Colorado BWRC Fund at (800) 511-4998. The Colorado Breast & Women's Reproductive Cancers (BWRC) Check-off Fund is a women’s cancer charity that works to secure funding for women’s cancer research in Colorado. In addition to breast cancer funding, The Colorado BWRC Fund also works toward breast cancer prevention through education and outreach programs.
Last updated 1 month ago
Breast and reproductive cancers affect millions of women every year, but through research, screening, and treatment, women can live healthier lives. The Colorado BWRC Fund is an active force in women’s cancer prevention, and you can help us continue to thrive through your donations. Learn how you can contribute by visiting our website or calling (800) 511-4998.
- MedicalNewsToday.com explores how physical activity throughout life can reduce cancer risk!
- Learn how hysterectomy is used in cancer treatment at WomensHealth.gov.
- Develop a better understanding of diabetes and reproductive cancer by browsing through this article by ScienceDaily.com.
- Over the past years, obesity in adults has increased significantly, and the relationship between obesity and cancer has developed as well. Read this article by Cancer.gov, which discusses obesity and cancer prevention.
Last updated 2 months ago
Endometrial cancer is the most common type of uterine cancer, which originates in the lining of the uterus. The exact cause of endometrial cancer is not known, but it may be linked to high levels of estrogen that encourage overgrowth of the uterine lining. If endometrial cancer is diagnosed in its early stages, the survival rate of patients is high, but the cancer can spread to the cervix and pose a greater threat.
Symptoms of Endometrial Cancer
Most cases of endometrial cancer occur in patients between the ages of 60-70 years old, so it is important to continue seeing your doctor for annual pelvic exams during and after menopause. Endometrial cancer can also be seen in younger patients but symptoms will be slightly different. Post-menopausal women should look out for vaginal bleeding, spotting, and thin white discharge. Women who are still of reproductive age might notice painful abdominal cramping and heavy bleeding between periods. If any of these symptoms do arise, notify your doctor right away so that proper testing can be administered.
Endometrial Cancer Treatments
In the first stages of endometrial cancer, the disease is treated through hysterectomy surgery. During this surgery, the uterus is removed along with any other reproductive organs affected by cancerous growth. Patients who are at high risk for the cancer returning will have radiation therapy after surgery is completed. If the cancer progresses to later stages without treatment, it will need to be addressed solely through radiation therapy and chemotherapy, as surgery will pose too much of a risk.
You can help women get the medical treatment needed to prevent and treat endometrial cancer by donating to The Colorado BWRC Fund. Even $1 can make a difference for women across the state who are unable to get the medical treatment they need on their own. Make your donation on our website or call (800) 511-4998.
