Registrations are now open for Pink Ribbon Breakfast, with Lorraine Downes asking Kiwis to invite their friends or colleagues to breakfast in May, to raise funds for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation.
Proceeds from this year’s Pink Ribbon Breakfasts will go towards breast cancer research, including new drug development, research into the genetic factors that contribute to cancer spread, and support for clinical trials that provide access to new and expensive treatments.
How hosting a Pink Ribbon Breakfast can help
‘Research is key to improving Kiwi women’s survival,’ said Lorraine Downes, who is an NZBCF ambassador and former Miss Universe. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and underwent successful treatment for the disease. ‘The advances that saved my mum started with research projects like the ones the NZBCF is funding today. By hosting a Pink Ribbon Breakfast, you’ll help save more women down the track.’
The latest statistics show that 73% of Kiwi breast cancer patients are disease-free 10 years after diagnosis. But still, more than 600 women die of breast cancer each year.
The NZ Breast Cancer Foundation funds ground-breaking work by top NZ researchers. Current projects include the development of a low cost drug, trialling aspirin to improve the effectiveness of hormone therapy, investigating new genetic markers for breast cancer and new drugs to target them, and collaborations with international researchers.
The NZBCF also funds breast cancer patient registers in Auckland, Waikato, Wellington and Christchurch, tracking patient treatment and outcomes to monitor treatment effectiveness and identify inequalities of access or care.
Let’s build on the success of previous years!
‘Last year, supporters held 2400 Pink Ribbon Breakfasts around the country, attended by 65,000 people and raising $1 million,’ said Van Henderson, chief executive at the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation. ‘There are exciting research opportunities coming up, and we want NZ women to be among the first to benefit. So, please, host a breakfast – your help will make a real difference.’
For more information and recipes, or to register to host a Pink Ribbon Breakfast, visit www.pinkribbonbreakfast.co.nz
About breast cancer in New Zealand:
- More than 3000 women a year are diagnosed with breast cancer in NZ – that’s 8 women a day
- 90-95% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease
- Around 350 NZ women in the pre-screening age group of 20-44 will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year – that’s one woman a day
- 82% of women will be disease-free five years after diagnosis…but only 73% will be disease-free 10 years after diagnosis
- More than 600 women will die of breast cancer this year – about the size of a large primary school.
- The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation recommends yearly breast screening mammograms for women 40-49 years of age, and every two years from age 50
- The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation’s mission is to prevent New Zealanders developing and dying from Breast Cancer and to support those with the disease.
Image / Supplied