Joining the Army

Chances are you or someone you know has had breast cancer. Chances are, you have worn a pink ribbon, donated money, participated in a walk or otherwise supported breast cancer research. Dr.s and experts have been searching for a cure for decades and though treatment has come a long way, the stats are still grim. Currently, 1 in 8 women can expect to get breast cancer in their lifetime, and 1 in 35 will die from it.

But at a recent event I attended, my ears perked up when I heard a about a hopeful new perspective: looking for the cause, not just the cure. That makes so much sense, right? The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation has teamed up with Avon to form the Army of Women, and in their quest to sign up 1 million women to volunteer for research studies, they say this, "Breast cancer has been around for decades, but it does not have to be our future. We can be the generation that eliminates breast cancer by identifying what causes this disease and stopping it before it starts. Sign up for your sister, mother, daughter, granddaughter, best friend, and the woman you met last week."

I signed up right when I got home. There's really no reason not to, right? I know plenty of women who have battled with this disease. The mother of one of my closest friends passed away after a long battle with breast cancer so this cause is close to my heart. Her memory is still alive and well...but I feel I owe it to her, to my friend, to myself, my daughter and women everywhere to do what I can to help eradicate breast cancer.

So far I have not qualified for any of the studies, but I'm looking forward to being able to participate at some point. It might be just a survey, or it might be a full-blown actual physical study. You can view all the open studies here to see if you fit the profiles and would like to participate in any of them. That's the wonderful thing about the Army of Women - you are in the driver's seat so you don't have to do anything you don't want to. You can participate at your discretion whenever you fit the guidelines of a study. The Army of Women is looking for women all women 18 and over to help fill and complete these studies! So if you are over 18 (and yes, even men can join the Army of Women! Ha!) join here and maybe you can do your part to help find the cause!