D I A R Y - O C T O B E R 1 9 9 8OCTOBER EVENTS ... SITE STATS ... NEWS ... FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Hit count Sept 1998: 17,327
Number of distinct hosts served: 2,984It's now three years since Marie Nally and I started this site for the 1995 Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and some of our initial aims and objectives are now starting to happen. When we first began to write pages for the different organisations on our contact list we never dreamt that three years later we would still be maintaining them or that the list would have become so long! However, slowly organisations are waking up to the importance of the web as a source of information but also as a place to talk to people with similar circumstances, read the experiences of others and generally as an extremely positive tool for women affected by breast cancer, their friends and families.
Since 1995 all of these organisations have developed their own sites: Bacup, Breakthrough, Cancerkin, Europadonna, Marie Curie Cancer Care and Women's Nationwide Cancer Control Campaign. I am slowly linking through directly to these sites from the contact list rather than trying to maintain an ever increasing number of pages. The Bacup site is particularly comprehensive and has a useful list of links to other UK sites. I'm very glad to report that both Breast Cancer Care and the UK Coalition have launched their own sites this month.
There are lots of events happening across the UK to mark Breast Cancer Awareness month and I have put together a list from information sent into the site. I've also made a new feedback page with some of the recent comments I've received regarding which parts of the site have proved helpful to users.
One project initiated by the UK Breast Cancer Coalition that you may well see this month is the 40 second awareness raising film that they have produced with the director Jon Blair. I went to the launch last week and the film which aims to 'tackle the lottery of Breast Cancer' will be showing on television and in cinemas throughout the month.
However, despite all these events it is with great sadness that I am approaching this October without my collaborator, the real driving force behind this site, Marie Nally. Marie died on the 14th of July this year and the site stands as a great testament to her energetic and efficient approach to contributing something of real long term use to women in the UK living with Breast Cancer. This month Channel Four have also written about Marie on their site highlighting Breast Cancer awareness month.
The launch of the Coalition's film was the first 'event' like this that I have been to without Marie, and it brought back a lot of memories. Marie and I attended the launch of the Coalition back in October of 1995, on that day standing outside the House of Commons we spoke to Angela Caplan, Marie and I had both warmed to her as she was holding a sign fixed to a broom stick which read "If men could catch it there would be a cure". Angela was at the launch of the new film , she is still involved in the Coalition as the regional representative for North Thames and still campaigning hard.
I am currently in the process of deciding what to do about the long term maintenance of the site, and am talking to some UK based organisations regarding email responses and diary updates, I will continue to manage these for the time being. I am very keen that the site keeps to the initial aims and objectives that Marie outlined on this site, and I would be grateful for any feedback or comments that users may have about which parts of the site have proved useful to them or they would particularly like to see maintained. Lastly my thanks go out to Lyn Duffus for her generous offer of email support for the site and her comments on the site's development.
Nina Pope 30th of September 1998
(UKBCA@somewhere.org.uk)
* * * Bristol Breast Cancer Campaign members have decided to terminate the group. The departure of some members combined with the creation of the UK Breast Cancer Coalition (which the BBCC decided to join) meant that we felt that it would be difficult for us to continue to operate independently. We hope that the Coalition's representative for the South-West region will take over the organisation of activities, such as the Breast Cancer Awareness Month events in October, in Bristol. We wish her and the Coalition all the best in their future activities.
See their page for news of their donation of books and a great image from one of their events.
* * * The Women's Environmental Network (WEN) is calling on women in the UK to participate in ground-breaking research into the possible links between breast cancer and environmental pollution. Putting Breast Cancer on the Map asks women to complete a questionnaire and produce a map of their local community. The results will show the regional incidence of breast cancer and local sources of environmental pollution and may help highlight potential causes of breast cancer. The research is funded by the National Lottery Charities Board of England.
Helen Lynn, project co-ordinator, explains some of the project's goals: "We are seeking responses from as many women in the UK as possible and we are working closely with breast cancer support groups. We want to find out why, for example, incidence of breast cancer is up to 40% higher in some parts of the country than others. We need women throughout the country to participate and get other groups and individuals involved in their local areas. The detailed report of our findings will be produced in mid-1999.
To obtain a copy of the 32 page project guide, send a 50p/or international equivalent, stamped address A4 envelope to:
PUTTING BREAST CANCER ON THE MAP
The Women's Environmental Network
87 Worship St
London EC2A 2BE
* * * In December 1997, the Scottish Breast Cancer Campaign launched a petition for increased funding for breast cancer treatment and research to ensure the best possible level of care for the women of Scotland, addressed to the Minister of State for Health and the Arts at the Scottish Office . Petition signatures currently stand at 44,608 (Sept '98). For more information, contact:
Scottish Breast Cancer Campaign
P O Box 12278
EDINBURGH EH4 8YAPhone/Fax: 0131339 9800
email: sbcc@ibm.net
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F O R T H C O M I N G E V E N T S
The National Breast Cancer Coalition (USA) will hold the Second World Conference on Breast Cancer Advocacy, 11 - 14 March 1999, in Brussels. For more information on, visit the NBCC's website.
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Please e-mail us with your news, events and comments.
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Thanks to Easynet for hosting these pages.About these pages: Contact Nina Pope - UKBCA@somewhere.org.uk