Art, Dense Breast Tissue and Breast Cancer

Last year I published this post on my Art Blog:

My dear readers, I've made a sculpture with the idea not only to raise awareness about breast cancer - women cancer - but also to give it away, to donate it to a foundation that researches for a cure to breast cancer or women cancer.

So, after having it shown in several venues around Connecticut and in NYC, and viewed internationally through web-based galleries, it's time for me to part from it, and for this I NEED YOUR HELP.

I've tried to find the right foundation but there are so many out there that it's hard to choose from... I do know, however, that many, many women, like me, have dense breast tissue which makes it harder for mammograms to detect abnormalities in the breast. You see, dense areas in the breast show up as white in the mammograms, as well as tumors that also show up as white. To make it even worse for us, in a recent study they have found that the cells that make up dense breast tissue may be a more fertile ground for cancer cells to grow in. The studies even suggested that the cancer cells found in women with dense breast tissue tend to be more aggressive that in women with normal breast tissue.

Therefore, since women with dense breast tissue seem to be more likely to get breast cancer and it's harder to be detected early, I would like to donate my sculpture AWARENESS to a foundation researching for a better way to diagnose and prevent Breast Cancer in women with Dense Breast Tissue. So, if you know of a foundation that would benefit on using my work as a fundraiser for their research efforts, as well as to serve as a reminder that we all women need to be aware of the risks and that we need to take prevention into our hands, please let me know. I would really appreciate it.

AWARENESS
stoneware on cedar wood
10"h x 8"w x 8"d
Best in Sculpture at the Manhattan Arts International HerStory online Competition, NYC, 2009
(c) Corina S. Alvarezdelugo

 

NOTE: Since the best medicine is prevention, please women out there do your monthly breast self-exam and have your mammogram done once a year, at least until we know of something better. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This article has created a lot of buzz and that's just what we want, so I decided to make a new blog dedicated just to this issue.

Here, I will keep you updated on my search to donate my sculpture. I will write about what motivated me to create this sculpture. I'll have links to useful websites related to prevention and information about Dense Breast Tissue. Though, this blog would be nothing without YOU!

So, please, feel at home, browse around, make comments to my posts (I promise to reply back), and if you want to tell your story, please, feel free to email it to me at DBTAWARENESS {at} GMAIL.COM. I'll be happy to post it here.




DISCLAIMER: I'm not a doctor or medical professional, I'm just an artist, a woman, who happens to have Dense Breast Tissue. If you have medical questions or concerns, please ask your physician or medical practitioner.
Please, read the complete disclaimer at the bottom of the blog. Thank you