October: Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Call for submissions

Hello!

Next month, October, is breast cancer awareness month. Last year during October I was going through chemo myself, and if I'm honest I found breast cancer awareness month to be at best annoying and at worst upsetting. I saw lots of pink ribbons, lots of cake sales, lots of businesses using breast cancer to make a profit - ranging from the silly to the downright offensive ("Buy our limited edition pink toilet brush and 5% of profit will go to breast cancer awareness!"). Lots of sexy images of glamorous, white, large-breasted women in pink bras "raising awareness". It drove me mad!

 

This year, during October, I want this blog to do some real breast cancer awareness. I've set a target of at least one new post every day.

So if you are a young woman in the UK who has, or has previously had breast cancer please submit a post for the blog for October. It doesn't matter whether you are an experienced blogger, or if you have never written for a blog in your life. The Young Women's Breast Cancer Blog needs YOU!

I am calling out for posts about anything related to your personal experience of breast cancer (primary and secondary). These might include, but are not limited to, posts about:

• The signs, symptoms and events that led to your diagnosis
• What happened when, and immediately after you were diagnosed
• How breast cancer treatment has affected you
• Anything you know now that you wish you had known before you were diagnosed with breast cancer
• The impact of breast cancer on your life (for example, relationships, work, sex and intimacy, children, hobbies and interests)
• A letter to the newly diagnosed (from women who have completed treatment)
• Things you think it would be helpful for friends, families, colleagues and neighbours of young women with breast cancer to know (eg how they might be able to support/what things never to say/gift ideas)
• The aspects of breast cancer that you don't think are talked about enough, or honestly enough.
• Recognising a relevant family history prior to diagnosis.
• Anything else you would like to share during breast cancer awareness month.

Submissions can be emailed to ywbcblog@yahoo.co.uk. (I'm collecting from now - it would be wonderful to get as many as possible submitted in September so I can get them ready for publishing from October 1st). If you are planning to submit a post, please have a read of the general guidance here too: http://youngwomensbreastcancerblog.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-posts-about-breast-cancer.html.

If you have any queries, please send them to ywbcblog@yahoo.co.uk.

And please share this post far and wide!

Thank you
Sarah