Educational Presentation: Breast Cancer Awareness at Woodstream Church

This report details an educational presentation aimed at raising breast cancer awareness among women at Woodstream Baptist Church. The campaign focuses on educating women about breast cancer symptoms, the importance of mammogram checkups for early detection, and available supp...Read More

Running head: BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
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Raising Breast Cancer Awareness among women at Woodstream Baptist Church
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BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
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Breast cancer awareness is a drive to raise awareness and minimize the stigma of breast
cancer by educating the public on treatment and symptoms. Campaigns on breast cancer
awareness are done with the hope that more knowledge will result in early detection of cancer.
This, in turn, leads to higher long-term survival rates, and the funds raised for breast cancer will
produce a dependable, permanent cure. An educational presentation raising breast cancer
awareness was organized at Woodstream Baptist Church. The target audience for the seminar
was women attending the church since women are more vulnerable to the disease. The event
aimed to enhance the early detection of the disease by teaching the women on the necessity for a
normal mammogram checkup. The presentation will be done over the weekend since majority of
the target audience are free from work during weekends hence available to attend.
Breast cancer awareness campaigns are organized with the goal to raise the brand
awareness for breast cancer among the public, and it's revealing, treatment and the urgency for
its cure. More awareness has led to more women undertaking mammograms, an increased
number of breast cancers detected and more women are receiving biopsies ( National Breast Cancer
Foundation, 2016). Generally, the awareness has resulted in breast cancers being detected at an
earlier, more treatable phase. Awareness campaigns are successfully applying marketing
approaches to minimize the stigma linked to the disease. Woodstream Baptist Church serves as a
good venue to host the awareness educational seminar since the women attending the church are
an appropriate audience reducing efforts of attracting people to attend the presentation.
During the presentation, the awareness campaign primarily aims to encourage the women
in attendance to undertake mammogram checkups more often to enhance early detection.
Mammography involves the procedure of applying low-energy X-rays to assess the human breast

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for screening and diagnosis (Jørgensen, 2013). The aim of mammography is the prior detection of
breast cancer, typically through detection of microcalcifications. Through the educational
presentation, women at the church will learn of the four groups of cancer detected by
mammography. One is the type of cancer that is easy to treat such that a later detection would
result in a similar rate of cure. The category of cancer that would still allow ailing women to live
without mammography. The other type of cancer is one which is aggressive, and early detection
would still not help the patient. Commonly, the women would die regardless of early detection
by mammography. Another type of cancer is one which is so slow in developing, and the woman
would succumb to other causes prior to cancer showing symptoms. A different kind of breast
cancer which has a small number is the type that can be detected earlier through screening
mammography. If treated, the woman's health will improve due to early detection.
Also, through the presentation, women will learn how frequent they are supposed to
undergo mammography. It is essential for women to learn how often they need mammography
since the process does not only lead to unnecessary anxiety and surgery but also there is a risk of
increased chances of breast cancer triggered by the radiation. The frequency of undertaking
mammography depends on age. The U.S Preventive Services Task Force recommends that the
average woman should undergo mammography every two years between the ages of 50 and 74
(Kalager, 2010). The organization considers this to be the appropriate age where the advantages of
screening mammography surpass the risks by a moderate amount. It would particularly be of
greatest help for the ones over the age of 60. Also, patients undergoing any form of breast
surgery such as breast reduction or enlargement as well as mastopexy should not undertake a
mammogram.

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Also, through the educational presentation, the women who will be diagnosed with breast
cancer or have already been diagnosed will learn on ways of handling the disease. Multiple
patients often develop stigma and stress once diagnosed with cancer. Others feel reluctant to ask
for the aid they require leading to a bitterness that family and friends have neglected them.
Through the awareness seminar, women will learn of the support groups within the community
that are available to help the patients. Through these programs, the patients will be encouraged to
stay brave and fight the stigma increasing their survival rates.

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References
National Breast Cancer Foundation. (2016). Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Retrieved from
National Breast Cancer Foundation: https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-
cancer-awareness-month
Jørgensen, G. &. (2013). Screening for breast cancer with mammography. Cochrane database of
systematic reviews, 23-87.
Kalager, Z. L. (2010). Effect of screening mammography on breast-cancer mortality in Norway.
New England Journal of Medicine, 1203-1210