Everything’s coming up Milhouse for Keep A Breast Canada on what can only be described as a cold blustery day in Vancouver.  As we shed our umbrellas for toques, and get deep into planning mode for 2012, we are so happy to announce that the UTM Women’s Centre is our hosting our first Music for Awareness event (MFA) on February 10th at the Blind Duck Pub in Mississauga, ON!

The Balconies, Red Nightfall, District 5, Rob Moir & Sola Ft. Ricky Solo are the talented artists who are contributing to this night of breast cancer education & awareness with proceeds of the evening coming back to Keep A Breast Canada for our education and prevention programs!

The Balconies - Photo taken by: Courtney Lee Yip

For those of you who aren’t  familiar with the centre (located at room 131D North Building, 3359 Mississauga Rd) at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus, the UTM Women’s Centre is a resource centre for the women of our community and has existed since 1989. They have fundraisers and events throughout the year, and provide access to information on health, sexuality and women’s issues.  The centre is very active in raising awareness of all issues including breast cancer, women’s rights, and violence against women. They also have a large volunteer base and provide our campus with many volunteering opportunities. This years focus is about  trying to raise global awareness and have fundraising for women’s issues around the world. So if you attend the University and and to get involved, you can contact them here We asked the centre why they chose Keep A Breast Canada to fundraise for, and to them; the choice was simple, “The UTM Women’s Centre was very keen on working with KABC because of its global status, and also-the Music For Awareness Program immediately caught our eye and couldn’t think of a better initiative to support. ” – Team UTM

Red Nightfall

If you’re looking at ways to give back to your community and raise money at the same time; our MFA program might be the thing to get you in the groove!  One of my favourite sayings is “Why walk when you can ROCK!” Music is a great way to get people and local musicians involved in an organization like Keep A Breast Canada, and help us to reach out and educate your friends and peers about ways of reducing risks of breast cancer.  We provide the info cards and swag for the bands as well as ideas on how you can impact your community through music.

Rob Moir

So next time you’re planning ways to raise money, give us a shout and we can help you get involved with Keep A Breast Canada!  All you need is an idea, a venue, and a little music to get you on your way.  Dont forget to check out all the bands listed here, give them a listen, like them on Facebook and Twitter and if you’re in Mississauga on February 10th join the UTM Women’s Centre for their amazing event Rock for a Breast for Keep A Breast Canada!  Contact us at canada@keep-a-breast.org with MFA in the subject line to get your Music for Awareness application form today!

Remember, “Music can change the world because it can change people” - Bono

XO

Michelle Murray
Follow @keepabreastcan
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My name is Kirsten and I am one of the two interns that will be working with Keep a Breast Canada in the upcoming months!  To further introduce myself, I am currently a student at the University of British Columbia studying Economics.  My interests include jazz dancing, and any art related projects. I also enjoy participating and planning events that help raise awareness for different causes in the community.

I chose an internship with Keep A Breast Canada for a number of reasons.  To begin with, I have had several family members diagnosed with breast, colon, and ovarian cancer over the past few years. As a result, I have always wanted to get involved with a cancer charity or organization as a way to keep myself and those around me informed as well as raise awareness for the disease.  While I have participated in a couple of “Relays for Life” with the Canadian Cancer Society, I still wanted to get more involved up front.

After recently having a family member diagnosed with cancer at a young age, I realized that I really wanted to get involved with a charity that targeted prevention in young people.  Originally, I had difficulties finding an organization that focused on preventative measures in youth and that suited my interests.  I ended up coming across KABC when I saw a girl wearing a brightly colored bracelet labelled “I Love Boobies!” on the bus.  I became so curious by the eye-catching bracelet that when I went home I found myself searching the web for answers to why this girl loved boobies so much.   Sure enough, Keep A Breast Canada came up in my search and I found myself in awe with how they planned to eliminate breast cancer through educating young people with creative and original means.  Since I love art related activities, I found the Treasure Chest casts to be a meaningful and powerful idea in terms of documenting a women’s personal experience with cancer.

At around the same time as my KABC discovery, I had applied for the UBC Arts Internship Program and was busy applying for a number of internships.  During my search for an internship I came across Michelle’s internship posting for a Community Outreach Coordinator and I knew instantly that KABC was where I wanted to intern for the semester.

I am really excited to have the opportunity to work with the Keep A Breast Canada team! In the upcoming months, I will be helping out with KABC’s Treasure Chest Program! I look forward to seeing this program grow further and cannot wait to get started!  If you are interested in the Treasure Chest Program and would like a “casting kit” sent to you, please check out our facebook page for the application process!

XO

Kirsten

I am so excited to be a part of the Keep A Breast Canada Team! I look forward to working with everyone and see what is in store for the ever growing KABC.  I am the Youth Outreach Coordinator for my time here, and I am starting to plan our summer tour by booking us into to a variety of festivals in Ontario and BC. Where would everyone like to see us this summer?!

Oh and hey! Don’t forget to follow KABC on Facebook and Twitter!

xo Jenna

On December 10th, Keep A Breast Canada held it’s first ever Breast Cast exhibit and auction at the Ayden Gallery in downtown Vancouver. We collaborated with 12 women from the Terminal City All-Star roller derby team, and 12 artists from Vancouver Island and throughout the Lower Mainland. The end result of these collaborations; was an amazing night of art, and breast cancer awareness.

The All-Stars will be fundraising in hopes of purchasing their own casts alongside Stay Classy in January; make sure you keep your peepers peeled to our Facebook and website page for more information on helping our amazing derby stars rally in friendly competition to see who can raise the most money for their painted casts.

Did you know that if you’re a breast cancer survivor, you can also get cast, simply by participating our Treasured Chest program?

The Treasured Chest Program strives to give newly diagnosed women a way to document their body and their feelings at a specific time in their life (i.e. after losing a breast or being told they have breast cancer). You may be facing a dramatic change in your female form resulting in the loss of a breast (mastectomy), partial removal of a breast (lumpectomy) or shrinkage of a breast caused by radiation. By documenting a specific point in your breast cancer journey, the Treasured Chest program allows newly diagnosed women the opportunity to turn their casted torso into a beautiful piece of art.

If you are interested in the program, you can apply online on the Keep A Breast Canada Facebook page, or by sending an email to canada@keep-a-breast.org, please indicate TREASURED CHEST PROGRAM in the email’s subject line.

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Keep A Breast Canada would like to voice our concern about the recommendation of the new Canadian Preventive Services Task Force’s recommendations on screening mammography, clinical breast exam and self-examination. We believe this new recommendation will be taking a huge step back in progress towards educating younger generations on the risks of breast cancer. As the leading global youth based breast cancer prevention and awareness foundation, Keep A Breast Internationally seeks to increase breast cancer awareness among young people so they are better equipped to make choices and develop habits that will benefit their long-term health and well-being.

Although the incidence of breast cancer in young women is much lower than that of older women, young woman’s breast cancers are generally more aggressive, are diagnosed at a later stage, and result in lower survival rates. Every year in Canada, 1 or 2 adolescent females (ages 15-19) are diagnosed with breast cancer as are about 10-15 women who are 20-24 years old and about 65-70 women who are 25-29 years old. The numbers continue to increase as women enter their 30s, with about 230-240 women diagnosed between the ages of 30 and 34 years and 600-625 women who are 35-39 years old Despite these facts, many young women mistakenly believe that breast cancer is only a problem for women over 40 years old, as a result, diagnoses are delayed and young woman’s lives are cut short.

Keep A Breast is focused on breast cancer prevention and the education of young women and the importance of loving your body and treating it right. We encourage all young people to be familiar with the look and feel of their breasts. By knowing what feels normal, a young woman has a better chance of knowing when something feels different. We also educate women on warning signs of breast cancer – we want all women to know that it doesn’t only start with a lump. It can be swelling, a rash, breast pain, nipple pain, redness or scaliness too.

Because mammograms in younger women are found to be less effective due to dense breast tissue we do not recommend mammograms for women under 40. We do highly recommend being aware of your own personal risks, family history, your body, and everyday environmental toxins. As well as working with your doctor to find screening appropriate  for your risk level. There are many non-evasive ways of screening for young women including thermography and clinical breast exams. Education on new screening approaches, how to access your risk level and more individualized recommendations are desperately needed, and by downplaying the need for breast health screening we feel the Canadian Preventive Services Task Force has taken away from this progression.

Keep A Breast strongly recommends that women know and understand their bodies, and we believe that regular self screenings can and do save lives. We stand behind all Canadian organizations and health practitioners who will continue to recommend breast self-exams as a detection method in conjunction with the advice of a qualified physician. Keep A Breast encourages you to never let anyone tell you that you are “too young for cancer”.

Check Your Self! Love Your Boobies, to download a Check Your Self! Card Click here!

Christina and Shana with Breast Cancer Survivor, Nadine Dwan in Hollywood, CA.

Hello everyone! Christina here, and sadly, the Keep A Breast Tour is officially over, but let’s reflect on how AMAZING it was and give praise where it’s due, shall we? First off, THANK YOU. No really, thanks! If you came out to any dates, if you donated to our organization, or even if you just came by our Traveling Education Booth to say hi- thank you. We’d also love to take a quick second and pay homage to the amazing artists, companies, venues, and sponsors we could ask for! Thank you to Uh Huh Her, Fences and Jarrod Gorbel for being amazing artists and choosing to be part of the tour. Thank you to Live Nation and House of Blues for being so kind to us and letting us use their beautiful music spaces to create something special. Thank you to Tilly’s for their awesome shades, helping us get the word about the tour at their retail stores, and even more awesome coupons and of course to Emergen-C for keeping us healthy and flu-free this WHOLE tour! Last, but not least special thanks to VoxBloc, LiveShare, GetGlue and Paperlinks for their help in the online world and spreading the word. We have the greatest people backing us and we wouldn’t be where we are without them.

Keep A Breast has been a part of tours for years now, but this was an extremely special and momentous tour for us. This was the first official Keep A Breast Tour where we got to put the whole thing together, from start to finish. For a non-profit organization to be able to do something so big as this, we can’t help but be proud of how far Keep A Breast has come, and how many people we are thankful for who support us. This is only the beginning and we can’t wait to add the word “annual” to our title next year!

I feel so lucky and so blessed that I had the opportunity to be a part of this tour. The hours would go by in the day, and the drives would seem to go on forever, but when we’d get to the venue and the doors would open, it seemed as though something magical happened. Girls and guys a-like would come up to our table and share their personal stories about how they themselves or their loved ones have battled with cancer. These people would share their most honest and private thoughts with us, and we couldn’t help but feel that we would forever be connected. To all the amazing people we’ve met on the road, everyone that participated in our Imagine If…There Was No Cancer and This Is My Story campaigns, and to all the breast cancer survivors who shared their stories with us, you’ve changed our lives forever, and we love you for it. Thank you for helping us continue to spread the word about the importance of breast cancer prevention and awareness.

To sum it all up, we appreciate the opportunity you all have given us to travel the country and spread our message to the world. You give us hope and the will to continue, and never give up on beating this disease. We love you all, and we’ll see you on the road!

Until then,
xoxo
Christina – KAB Ambassador

It’s so amazing to see Canadians who love to get involved with Keep A Breast’s mission to eradicate by exposing young people to methods of prevention and support. Giving back through our Community Outreach program is one of the many ways you can work alongside KABC – I mean seriously, you can become a part of our team, just by getting involved! Throw a Music For Awareness event at your high school or college, or participate in Community Outreach, even volunteer when a tour or event is in your area –there are so many ways you can give back to Keep A Breast Canada.

A few months ago I got an email from Concordia Universities Zeta Tau Omega sorority in Montreal. This year, the Zeta’s had chosen Keep A Breast Canada as the charity they wanted to raise money and awareness for. By selling our I ! bracelets, they not only got their school talking about breast cancer prevention; and ways of reducing your risks, they created awareness of Keep A Breast Canada – and for that we truly think they ROCK!

I bet you are wondering – Who are the Zeta’s?

“We are a non-profit organization for female undergraduate students in Montreal, Quebec. Although we are a small local sorority, last year alone, we raised over $2000 for the West Island Women’s Shelter at our first Battle of the Bands Charity event. To date this year; we have raised over $2500 for Keep A Breast Canada! As we have members from outside of the province who have chosen to study in Montreal, our network expands out of Quebec. Our network is also not limited to within the sorority as we meet many new people every year through other fraternities and sororities. We offer members a wide array of opportunities and benefits such as philanthropy & community service events, social activities, a supportive home environment, a network of sisters, close friendships, and memories that last a lifetime!”
– Jennifer Berube Treasurer.

Pretty awesome eh? Well – It gets cooler.

After all the fun they had selling the I Love Boobies! bracelets the Zeta Tau Omega sorority became even more involved, and decided to host a huge fashion fundraiser on November 24th at 9:00pm at the Imperial Room in Montreal. The I Love Boobies! Fashion show will feature local student designers and all proceeds of the evening will go to Keep A Breast Canada’s education and support programs! For this we say: “Thank you to the Zeta Lau Omega Sorority for everything you’ve done to help Keep A Breast Canada!”

If you want to get involved with Keep A Breast Canada visit our website – it has all the program information on Music For Awareness, and Community Outreach.

www.keepabreastcanada.ca

- Michelle Murray XO
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A few Saturdays ago in Bowmanville Ontario, two amazing Keep A Breast Canada supporters, and a local business (The Perfect Party Place) put together a Pumpkin Fundraiser through KAB’s Community Outreach Program. The goal? Raise money for Keep A Breast Canada’s education, and support programs, create awareness of KAB’s mission to eradicate by exposing young people to methods of prevention, early detection and support. And – to sell PUMPKINS!

Keep A Breast Canada’s Community Outreach Program enables organizations and individuals to step in and start making a difference. This campaign will allow anyone to play a role with KABC and throw his or her very own fundraiser in support of the Keep A Breast Canada. This campaign will acknowledge and enable the fact that young people do want to be activists, to play a part of a bigger and better good. This was developed to provide an outlet that inspires people to better themselves and their communities.

So, I asked Hunter – What makes you so passionate about Keep A Breast?

“I am very passionate about art and music and definitely want to put my goals of fundraising into action through Keep A Breast Canada. I have become aware of the organization along with its dedication and efforts in teaching, preventing and inspiring change. Part of my goal is to educate my community using KABC’s unique hands on programs which allow for a better understanding of the most important aspects of the fundraiser.

As a strong believer in the power of music and its affects and overall reach to a specific demographic, Keep A Breast Canada is a perfect union of a great organization and charity. On a personal level I have had family and friends affected by cancer and to just be a part of helping is an honour. I feel that every bit of fundraising and work towards our goal of a cancer free world will always be beneficial. Keep A Breast Canada to me is a goal, its a mission, its taking action, its close to my heart.” – Hunter Jones

Despite the blustery winds (sometimes reaching 80kms an hour) the spirits of Hunter & Anna were not dampened in the least as they prepared for a day of education, and pumpkin sales. Raising over $500 for Keep A Breast Canada!

If you, your school, or your small business like giving back – Participate in Keep A Breast’s Music for Awareness or Community Outreach Program! You can get more information on these programs by contacting: canada@keep-a-breast.org or check out the information here: http://www.keep-a-breast.org/mfa

- Michelle Murray
Keep A Breast Canada