October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Zombek Orthodontics is teaming up with an organization dedicated to helping survivors of this terrible disease. BRCAStrong’s mission is to alleviate the emotional and financial burdens of women facing breast or ovarian cancer, regardless of their genetic predisposition. Zombek Orthodontics is proud to be a sponsor of BRCAStrong, and we have several ways that you can help us support them this month through services and donations.
Women who survive breast cancer or undergo a preventative mastectomy often face a long and challenging road of reconstruction and recovery, which is why BRCAStrong is here to help.
In 2015, Tracy Milgram-Posner and her daughter Gabby founded BRCAStrong after Tracy’s own battle against the BRCA2 gene mutation. After two lumpectomies in her teens, she discovered she had the mutation in 2004 at age 21.
In 2015, Tracy was told she had an 85% chance of developing breast cancer and a 30% chance of developing ovarian cancer. She had a total hysterectomy and a double mastectomy. She founded BRCAStrong to help other women dealing with their own BRCA genetic mutations so they wouldn’t have to fight alone as she did.
“After finding out I was BRCA2 positive in 2004 and seeing that there wasn’t much support for women like myself, I decided to be that voice,” Tracy said.
BRCAStrong provides mastectomy recovery care packages for women with items they’ll need after surgery — robes with drain belts, two mastectomy pillows, and a post-mastectomy bra. They also provide advocacy, direct assistance, special events, and empowerment for survivors. BRCAStrong also provides informative resources and guides for women about to undergo or who have undergone mastectomies.
Their goal is to provide caring and support for women through a difficult process and to empower them with the strength to continue to survive.
“This group has helped support women with day-to-day battles they may face,” Tracy said. “The stories you hear are incredible, whether good or bad, and these ladies are amazing.”
Zombek Orthodontics is proud to sponsor this organization and its empowering work with several special events throughout October.
To start, we will donate a mastectomy recovery care package for the first 25 new patients who start treatment through October. Secondly, we are donating all fees to replace lost retainers to BRCAStrong throughout October. So if you need to replace your retainer, now is a great time to do it. You’ll keep your teeth straight AND help a fantastic cause!
Finally, we are hosting a Charity Yoga Event at Hollywood Oaks Park on October 21. All proceeds from the event will be donated to help provide care packages to women in our community! Last year, BRCAStrong distributed 150 of these kits. Our goal is to help them deliver another 40 kits by the end of the month!
According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes. More than 325,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and more than 49,000 will die.
Breast cancer is the second-most common type of cancer — behind only skin cancer — in women. It is also the second deadliest cancer for women, second only to lung cancer. Breast cancer incidents are trending up about 0.5% each year. Breast cancer death rates have been steady for women under 50, but those older have decreased since 2007.
It’s believed early detection using more modern methods, such as 3D ultrasound and high-resolution digital mammography, has led to better treatment chances and a declining rate of death of about 1% per year.
Testing for the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation has also assisted in increasing a woman’s chance of survival against breast cancer. Because women with these gene mutations have a much higher chance of developing breast cancer (4-5 times higher, in some cases) or ovarian cancer (10-40x higher), some opt to have a partial or full mastectomy during breast cancer treatment or even before breast cancer can develop.
How can you help? If you’re in the Hollywood, FL area, join us on October 21 for a Charity Yoga Class! If you’ve been thinking about braces or Invisalign, you can try a virtual consult to get started with us and add one more mastectomy care package to BRCAStrong!
Please join us in our efforts to support BRCAStrong during Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October. Together, let’s stand together to support these remarkable survivors.
This site’s strategy, design, photo & video were created by the marginally-above-average folks @ Clear Partnering Group.
