On Oct. 16, 2016, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer held its annual walk at Prospect Park for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Breast Cancer Survivors group walked with survivors, fighters, families, supporters, students and friends to bring awareness and visibility to the cause. Nine-year survivor Nayaba Arinde invited students and youth to walk with her group Square Circles, alongside Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’s 10,000 participants and teams Sunday.
“I want young people to be cognizant of the importance of being actively involved in our own health advocacy, said Arinde. “You are never too young to learn about fighting for your own best, healthy self. So we at Square Circles are walking to show the power of fighting and survival. Whenever we walk with our community we are showing others by just being and by just dong how strong we are.”
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc., 1 in 8 women in America will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Every two minutes, a woman is diagnosed with cancer, and every 13 minutes a woman dies of the disease. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Only 40 percent of women detect cancer by feeling a lump on their breasts, so regular self-examinations and checkups with doctors are recommended.
Square Circles is one of many organizations that focuses on Breast Cancer awareness. It will be participating in Sunday’s walk to let people see Black women and their families and supporters surviving and thriving. Founder of Square Circles and editor of the Amsterdam News, Arinde, wants everyone who has the ability to participate in bringing awareness about this disease. Square Circles is a support group, where current fighters and survivors get together and discuss their situation. Arinde wants to create an environment where the women feel safe and supported to celebrate her achievement as a survivor with her family and other survivors.
Email squarecircles9@gmail.com for more information about Square Circles.
