Bra initiative aimed at combating breast cancer
“We are empowering women to take full charge of their health."
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women of all races, states The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA).
It also reports that approximately 19.4-million women aged 15 years and older live at-risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer.
In order to tackle this, a group of South African women came together to launch a bra campaign that aims to aid women in avoiding contracting the illness that claims the lives of millions of people worldwide.
Diane Schonegevel, one of the woman who is working on the project, told Beautiful News that she lost her cousin to breast cancer and that birthed in her the desire to want to prevent more deaths from occurring due to the disease.
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Diane, who has over 30 years of bra design experience, said she was approached by Check Know Prevent, a breast cancer awareness NGO founded by Jenny De Oliveira, to come up with a way that bras can be used to help fight the breast cancer challenge.
Alongside a group of other South African women, Diane has developed high-quality bras that are embedded with information such as how to self-examine, what symptoms to look out for, and, if necessary, where to seek help.
They also run a charity drive where Check Know Prevent combines the sale of bras with bra donation drives in schools and gives a bra to one high school student in lower-income areas for every five bras sold.
“For those living in poorer communities, access to treatment can be costly if not detected earlier,” explained Diane to Beautiful News.
“We like to focus on education, having nurses there, educating you on breast cancer so that you can pass the message on,” she added.
The seamstress says: “By educating people to stay a step ahead, we can save lives. We are empowering women to take full charge of their health."
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