• HOMTV intern Michelle Herrera alongside with the Director of Community Engagement at Susan G Komen.

LANSING - October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time to educate oneself and others specifically about this form of cancer that has affected approximately 276,480 women throughout the United States as of this year, according to the American Cancer Society.

“More than 40,000 people in the U.S. are dying every year from this disease and also from metastatic breast cancer. So, it’s extremely important that we take our activation this month and get your mammogram, receive education and get familiar with ‘knowing your normal’ because the earlier it is detected the easier it is to treat and the better your life expectancy is,” said Rachael Burnosky, Director of Community Engagement at Susan G Komen.

Organizations such as Susan G Komen strive to educate the community about Breast Cancer while offering various forms of support to those affected, including their families. The organization offers anything from financial support, hosting events that spread awareness and educating the local community.

“Susan G Komen Michigan covers twenty-four counties, and through those twenty-four counties we are able to provide our treatment assistance program, which is through our 1877-gokomen number which is our Komen hotline number that’s open for anyone to call that needs help with navigation, screening diagnostics,” said Burnosky, just to name one of the many resources Susan G Komen offers to both patients and their families navigate through difficult times.

Despite COVID-19 Susan G Komen continues to assist at the local level by hosing various virtual events such as the 2020 West Michigan Virtual MORE THAN PINK Walk. They have also established the Komen COVID-19 Action Fund that provides additional financial support to those battling Breast Cancer and their families.

“The Komen Action Fund we started right away because through the treatment process and diagnosis because this virus hit everyone that was Immunol compromise that fund is there to help those that might of lost their job so they lost their insurance and then they have breast cancer and got hit with COVID so in ways such as that it helps,” said Burnosky.