IndiaPost.com - Racing for a breast cancer cure

Many of you may have recently noticed all the household items in pink on the shelves of large stores like Target and Walmart, and wondered when pink became the color for your blender and coffee pot.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and pink is the international color affiliated with breast cancer awareness.

For the past 26 years, in association with this month and all that it symbolizes, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Foundation has held its annual fitness walk throughout the world. The foundation uses this event to raise awareness and money for the fight against breast cancer.

The event also celebrates breast cancer survivorship by acknowledging women of all ages who have successfully overcome their personal battles, as well as recognizes those who did not. This year's event was held on Fashion Island in Newport Beach on Sunday, September 28.

The event was composed of four fitness walks, including one solely for breast cancer survivors. There were 24,500 people who attended and of those 2,500 were survivors of breast cancer.

Team 11:11- Make a Wish; led by Team Captain Alan Trivedi, and including Shashi Trivedi, Urmi Patel, Hansa Chaurushia, Bhanu Gadhe, Mina Patel, Rupinder Sidhu, Priti Solanki, and Niru Suva; participated in the Co-Ed 5K Run/Walk to help research the cure for breast cancer.

According to one research study, one out of every 40 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in India, in comparison to the staggering one out of every 8 Asian Indian women in the United States.

There are several steps that every Asian Indian woman should take to detect and prevent breast cancer: know your own risk, be properly screened for early detection by doing self breast exams and getting mammograms, live a healthy lifestyle, and encourage other Asian Indian women around you to do the same. Every woman, everywhere, can be the cure for breast cancer.