BA-RAH DAY!

Though exact numbers are still uncertain, one certainty is that the New Orleans Breast Reconstruction Awareness (B.R.A.) Day Breastoration happening – the New Orleans premiere of the film, Decoding Annie Parker -- was a huge success, bringing in over $50,000! Hands of applause to all the folks who organized this great event and all who attended. Not only was money raised, but also awareness – about the discovery of the BRCA gene, how it impacts individuals and families, and about a woman's options for treatment and breast reconstruction, should she so choose.

Annie Parker

Director Steven Bernstein

As part of its educational efforts surrounding B.R.A. Day observance, The American Academy of Plastic Surgeons put together a valuable new online resource. The Breast Reconstruction Recovery Guide: Steps to a Speedy Recovery with lots of input from breast recon patients. Check it out! http://www.bradayusa.org/breast-reconstruction/breast-reconstruction-recovery-planner-guide.html

Up here in Minnesota, we continued our two-year tradition of bra art creations and accompanying educational efforts regarding breast reconstruction – the number of artists participating is growing by leaps and bounds. We started mid-summer at the St. Cloud Convention Center and continued throughout the region, at area businesses and art exhibits and other general breast cancer awareness events, culminating at the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer at St. Cloud State University. No more words necessary this month. I'll let the pictures do the talking . . .