One in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer.
With National Breast Cancer Awareness Month now underway, people within and beyond our school community will be focusing on raising awareness about the disease – from prevention, detection and treatment, to fundraising for research to better combat it. Breast cancer-related charities across the globe have come together to draw attention to this form of cancer.
St. Luke’s is honoring lives impacted by breast cancer on Friday, October 19th, when we host our annual “Pink Out.” Students are invited to dress down for school, donning pink clothing in an effort to show support for men, women, and families touched by this extremely common type of cancer.
St. Luke’s Pink Portrait Club (PPC), led by Emma Tarleton and myself, will be giving out pink beads to members of the St. Luke’s community, in addition to putting up breast cancer awareness flyers around the school. PPC continues the work initiated in 2014 by the nonprofit Pink Portrait Project, founded by my sister, Caleigh Steele ‘16, and I. Pink Portrait Project has created a community of professional photographers across the United States who donate their time and talents to celebrate women affected by breast cancer. Pink Portrait’s free professional photo sessions are available to women at any juncture in their breast cancer journey. Women are photographed with the people who have shown them love and support through illness, whether it’s family, friends, co-workers, or even pets. Members of the SLS Pink Portrait Club work to recruit volunteer photographers, coordinate with participant families, as well as schedule and assist at photo sessions.
PPC is offering photo sessions in our greater community and prospective participants can reach out to either Emma or me or sign up at pinkportraitproject.com. The goal of PPC is to “have women and their supporters enjoy a relaxed photo session, and leave with digital and print images celebrating their relationships.” We at PPC recognize that breast cancer is not all about ribbons and pink banners; breast cancer continues to take lives in the hundreds of thousands each year, and efforts aimed at awareness, while well-intentioned, can sometimes eclipse the pain and sorrow associated with any illness of this sort. PPC works to celebrate the human connections that our participants value.
If you would like to get involved in the effort to raise awareness about breast cancer and provide support in the form of photographs to women, men and families impacted by breast cancer, please reach out to Emma Tarleton or me.
