Imagine that your life full of plans, dreams, peace, family happiness suddenly loses its rhythm. An illness appears that introduces anxiety, fear, pain. It doesn't care about your plans. This is the challenge faced by patients with advanced breast cancer who wonder every day what their tomorrow will look like. The latest campaign spot BreastFit. Women's Bust. A man's business, which premiered on 30 July at Multikino Ursynów, shows the story of Ania, who, despite her incurable disease, wants to dream about her future every day. Ania is the voice of women with advanced breast cancer who speak out about their needs and want to be noticed by society.
Latest campaign spot BreastFit. Women's Bust. A man's business shows that the biggest dream for women with advanced breast cancer can be to put a holiday trip on their calendar or plan a birthday party for their children. Unfortunately, the uncertainty of tomorrow means that they continue to be overlooked by society. Patients, while struggling with breast cancer, want to live, work, love and be loved.
WATCH THE SPOT here (YouTube)
According to data from the National Cancer Registry, nearly 19,000 breast cancers were diagnosed in Polish women in 2016 and it was identified as the cause of almost 6,500 deaths[1]. 78 per cent of men feel that support in illness is definitely needed[2]This is important, especially because breast cancer develops to an advanced stage in as many as 30 per cent of women[3].
– Our fifth anniversary is a perfect opportunity for us to reflect on what we have been able to change for Polish patients. There is no denying that a lot of good things have happened, but women like Ania - with advanced breast cancer - still have many unmet needs, unlike their counterparts in Western Europe. Meanwhile, advanced breast cancer is a treatable disease. Current medical knowledge gives these patients the chance to plan the coming months, to engage in their lives 100 per cent - as mothers, wives, daughters. Despite this, they live without a plan and it is not an adventurous life, but one full of worries about what will happen to the patient and her loved ones - and this is not the case. says Anna Kupiecka, President of the OnkoCafe Foundation - Together Better.
Campaign BreastFit. Women's Bust. A man's business each year also seeks to draw a great deal of attention to the importance of support for women by those close to them, especially men.
- Facing a disease such as advanced breast cancer is a huge challenge not only for the patient, but also for her partner. This is the moment to stand shoulder to shoulder and face the disease together. In the BreastFit campaign. Women's Bust. A man's cause, we have addressed some key issues that can help men to see and understand the great role they play in cancer prevention, and how they can support their female partners in the situation of such an illness. Society is still not aware that among the help patients expect from those around them is acceptance, support from their partner and family. Talking openly about the illness, about the needs of the whole family in the face of the illness, and being able to accompany the patient through every stage of treatment. For this reason, it is extremely important to continually raise the subject of support from loved ones during cancer - says Adrianna Sobol, Board Member of the OnkoCafe Foundation - Together Better, psycho-oncologist.
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Campaign BreastFit. Women's Bust. A man's business was created on the initiative of the OnkoCafe - Together Better Foundation, with Novartis Oncology as its partner. The aim of the campaign is to encourage systematic examinations and education about the disease advanced breast cancer.
The social partners of the campaign are: Polskie Amazonki Ruch Społeczny (Polish Amazons Social Movement), Alivia - Fundacja Onkologiczna Osób Młodych (Oncology Foundation for Young People), Federation of "Amazon" Associations, AMAZONKI Warsaw-Centrum Association, Rak'n'Roll - Win Life Foundation, OmeaLife Foundation, Institute for Patient Rights and Health Education Foundation. Media Partners of the campaign: Radio Plock, Network for Health. The campaign is supported by: Przelewy24.pl
The fourth edition of the campaign was held under the honorary patronage of the wife of the President of the Republic of Poland, Agata Kornhauser-Duda. The substantive partner of the campaign is the Polish Cancer Society. The special partner of the campaign is the Patient Ombudsman Bartłomiej Chmielowiec.
[1] Wojciechowska Urszula, Didkowska Joanna. Incidence and deaths from malignant neoplasms in Poland. National Cancer Registry, Maria Skłodowska-Curie Cancer Center-Institute. Available from: http://onkologia.org.pl/raporty/#tabela_rok, Report generation date: 19.07.2019.
[2] Data obtained from OMNIBUS social survey "Breast cancer", Data as of 26.07.2019
[3] The Invisible Woman. Report on the personal, social and economic impact of advanced breast cancer in Europe http://www.wearehereandnow.com/pl/files/here-and-now-report.pdf, accessed: 19.07.2018