Have you checked your HEADLIGHTS recently?
Megan Burnett
Shred Betties everywhere! As women we are all so different in so many ways, but there is still one thing that all of us do have in common (apart from our obvious passion for snowboarding), we all have BOOBIES, GAZOOMS, BRA-BUSTERS, CHA-CHAS, JUGS, SWEATER PUPPETS, HONKERS; you get the point. This October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and since we all have a set of SNOW CONES, it is definitely in our best interest to make sure we are all living preventative lifestyles and doing our monthly self breast exams. Boarding for Breast Cancer is an amazing non-profit that believes in the well being of the snow, surf, and skate communities. Their role is to teach positive health practices which assist in the detection and prevention of breast cancer.
At this year’s Hot Dawgs & Hand Rails event I got the privilege to spend a few hours volunteering at the B4BC booth with one of their Outreach Directors, Blair. When I first showed up, I have to be honest, my knowledge of breast cancer was minimal to say the least; I could tell you that 1 in every 8 women will one day be diagnosed with breast cancer, and that staying active in your everyday life and doing your monthly breast exams is a must in order to be preventative. Blair updated me on how to do a proper self breast exam and gave me the overall point of what I would be trying to get across to people when they approached the booth- Why do it? What to look for? Other changes that you should watch for? How to check yourself?
The day was amazing and I got to talk to some women who had experienced the effects of breast cancer in their own lives or families, some women who didn’t even know how to do a self breast exam, and a few guys who were interested in learning how to help their significant others stay healthy. The booth had three different “fake breast” examples that were there for people to feel what a healthy breast, a breast with fibrocystic tissue (noncancerous – but something that should put you on alert), and a breast with a lump that represented what breast cancer felt like. B4BC also had some great breast cancer prevention handouts, some stickers that were perfect for slapping on your snowboard, breast cancer awareness bracelets, and some edgy canvas bags with every different name under the sun for our CROWN JEWELS. Overall the experience I had volunteering was a 10! Not only would I highly recommend for all of you to check out B4BC’s website at http://www.b4bc.org where you can find vast amounts of information on the who, what, when, where, and why of breast cancer but you can also check out their “BOOB-TUBE” and hear it from amazing shredders: Anne-Flore, Jenny Jones, and Marie-France Roy!
At the very least ladies, please start checking your HEADLIGHTS on a monthly basis, and when this season finally opens up get out there and hit the slopes; not only will you be doing what you love but you’ll also be doing your body a favor by living an active lifestyle. I might end up seeing some of you at an event in the future, because I will definitely be volunteering my time again. For all of you who have thought about volunteering but have always been teetering on the edge of whether to do it or not- DO IT! It’s an amazing experience that you will never forget and you will definitely carry it with you down the road. Until then, enjoy October national breast cancer month, and check out some questions I threw Blair’s way…
Ok, to start how long have you been with B4BC?
I’ve been involved with B4BC for over 5 years now. I started volunteering in the summer of 2004 and was hired on as Outreach Director in 2005.
What inspired you to join B4BC’s group full time?
I had a family member who passed away from breast cancer, so I always wanted to help out with the cause in some capacity, but never really found an organization that I could fully connect to—most organizations out there target older women. When I found out about B4BC, I instantly had a connection since it combines all things I love, snowboarding, skating, surfing, and helping others! It doesn’t get any better than that. 
Is there one particular event that will be coming up this season that B4BC is really looking forward to participating in or hosting?
We all are looking forward to our upcoming Skate the Coast event on October 24th, where we skate from the Santa Monica Pier 19 miles to the Redondo Beach Pier. We also are going to be hosting a half a dozen film premiere and awareness nights on various campuses in October, but honestly we always look forward to all of our upcoming activities! Every opportunity we have to get out there and educate young people about their bodies is something to look forward to.
Will we see your booth at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games?
Unfortunately no. Being a small grassroots non-profit we don’t quite have the funds for an event of that magnitude, but the Olympics are definitely something to hope for in the future.
How about Aspen in January for the X-games?
Yes, you can see us there! ESPN X Games has been an enormous supporter of ours for several years now and to be able to have our educational booth onsite is a tremendous opportunity for outreach and not to mention a ton of fun too!
How do the guys normally react when they come across your booth?
Well guys or gals, you never really know how people are going to react..but for the most part our booth is incredibly well-received by all, even the dudes. The fact of the matter is, guys have ladies in their lives that they care about so it means a lot to them to be able to support. Guys can get breast cancer too, so they need to be educated. Also, 30% of women’s lumps that are self-detected are actually found by their partner. That’s a significant amount, so we always welcome the guys.
Does B4BC get enough volunteers to help with the events that your booths participate in, or should we be blasting this all over Shred Betties so we can hook you up with more girls willing to participate?
We have amazing volunteers and really couldn’t do what we do without them. But you can NEVER have too many helping hands, so please blast away! If you’re interested in volunteering send a note to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with your name, age, phone and where you live. THANKS!
Because living an active lifestyle is one of the best ways to be preventative- what would you have to say to all those Shred Betties out there?
As we all know there’s no sure prevention, but there are things that you can do to increase your odds against this disease and being active is certainly one of them. Regular physical activity can do wonders for your overall health, not too mention increase your odds against cancer in general. So keep shredding ladies—and for more tips on increasing your odds check out this video on our “Boob-tube” from Anne-Flore, Jenny Jones, and Marie-France Roy http://www.b4bc.org/index.php?area=boobtube&video_id=13
Last but not least, if you had to leave us at Shred Betties with one inspirational message that would push us to not only start spreading awareness in our own lives but to really take this matter seriously, what would it be?
Well I guess I would just like to say that cancer doesn’t discriminate with age. This is a disease that can and does affect women of all ages, so let’s be proactive instead of reactive. Educate yourself on early detection and prevention. Knowledge is power and incorporating that awareness into your lifestyle is invaluable in the fight against this disease. So check yourselves, stay active, and keep the stoke!
Posted by Megan Burnett on 10/01
