1st Friend for Life

Can a friend save your life? Can you save a friend's life, or your mother's, or your sister's?

Breast cancer is the leading cancer site among American women and is second only to lung cancer in cancer deaths, and it is something women cannot ignore. This year in the United States, 212,920 women and 1,720 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 40,970 women and 460 men will die from the disease. When breast cancer is found early (and confined to the breast), your chances for survival are the greatest. Early detection is key to curing this disease.

When it comes to fighting breast cancer, catching it early saves lives. John Stoddard Cancer Center at Iowa Methodist Medical Center along with WHO TV 13 invite you to become a "1st Friend for Life." On the 1st of every month WHO TV 13 and the John Stoddard Cancer Center will bring you a "1st Friend for Life" reminder to perform your self breast exam and call your friend for life to remind her to do the same sometime during the month.

Become a "1st Friend for Life"

Choose a friend - your mother, daughter, sister or a pal.
Agree to be 1st Friends for Life. - On the 1st day of each month remind your friend to do her monthly self breast examination checking for unusual changes or lumps - and remember to do your monthly exam, too. (See Steps to Breast Self-Examination for the best time of the month to perform the exam).
Check with your friend each month to be sure she does her breast self-exam.
Remind your friend to have a yearly physical and mammogram if appropriate.
Most importantly, focus on living life to the fullest, being the best possible mom, sister, wife, daughter and friend.

Thank you for joining WHO TV 13 and the John Stoddard Cancer Center to help fight breast cancer. Be our "1st Friends for Life." Follow these steps to a breast self-exam.