It's about an opportunity to give back and say thank-you, to celebrate life and to live in the present and enjoy the present.
- Christine Watson
ABOUT 48 Australians will be diagnosed with breast cancer today.
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And tomorrow, the next day and every day as an estimated 17,586 women and 144 men across the country face a breast cancer diagnosis this year.
A fundraising event at Wodonga and District Turf Club during Saturday’s race meeting will support a group that helps those affected by breast cancer.
The Sam Miranda BCNA Cellar Door aims to raise both awareness and money for Breast Cancer Network Australia.
Sales and event manager Steven Keene said the event, a first for the turf club, would become an annual fixture.
The idea originated from Christine Watson and her husband John, a Wodonga councillor, who have firsthand experience of the network’s benefits.
Mrs Watson had just turned 50 in 2011 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and a second diagnosis of metastatic or secondary cancer came about two years later.
“With ongoing treatment I’m managing well,” she said.
Cr and Mrs Watson found resources available through the network’s website and individual My Journey kits extremely helpful during this rollercoaster period.
Information about the disease, the medical processes and areas such as emotional support could assist more than the person diagnosed.
“It’s just ideal for me to help inform my three sons and other people, family and friends,” Cr Watson said.
“That empowerment’s really important at a time where you feel like any control or power you have has been completely stripped away,” Mrs Watson added.
The Watsons also appreciated Breast Cancer Network Australia’s work in representing the interests of patients and advocating to medical stakeholders for future improvements in care.
“For John and I, what brought us to come and talk to Steve about running an event like this was really just wanting an opportunity to say thank-you to BCNA, to provide some exposure as well as some fundraising for the work that they do,” Mrs Watson said. “So it’s about an opportunity to give back and say thank-you, to celebrate life and to live in the present and enjoy the present.”
- The Sam Miranda BCNA Cellar Door opens at 12.30pm Saturday