CHARLESTON, W.Va. — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and women from the Alpha Omicron Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority are recognizing that by hosting an event that focuses on the African American community.
The second annual Sisters and Soldiers Program will be held at the Grace Bible Church in Charleston Sunday at 3 p.m.
“Our goal is to inform and educate particularly the African American community about breast cancer and some of the resources that are available to those who find themselves in the situation of dealing with this disease,” said Christy Day, the program chairperson.
Keynote speaker Stacy Murray-Medcalf, a breast cancer survivor and a co-founder of the organization The Cause, Inc., will share insights from her own struggles with breast cancer and how she overcame the difficult time in her life.
Day said this informational session is really important because not enough women know about the disease and how to prevent it.
“There still is a lack of information in some pockets of our state where people don’t realize you do need to do these exams and you do need to be pretty aggressive in protecting your own health,” she said.
According to a news release, African American and Hispanic women are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced breast cancer compared to white women. For African American women, the risk of getting breast cancer is less likely than that for white women, but the risk of dying from breast cancer is higher.
“Much of that may come from the fact that there was a lower rate of insurance among poor African American and Latino women,” said Day. “So we may not have gone out and sought the treatments that we needed for early detection.”
Day said unfortunately, knowing someone who has breast cancer or who has died as a result of the disease is a “common bond that too many of us share.” For that reason, she said they want to make a difference by talking about what women can do to take charge of their lives.
“Even if, personally, you’re not dealing with it or someone in your family isn’t dealing with it, come and get the information because there may be a coworker, someone in your community, someone in your church who needs to know this and you can be that critical link between them and the information,” said Day.
The program is open to the public. Doors open at 2:30 p.m.