10/07/2014

Fighting Breast Cancer Year-Round on CAN TV

Everything from professional sports uniforms to Chicago skyscrapers is pink this month in recognition of breast cancer awareness. On CAN TV, local nonprofits are giving women the tools they need to fight breast cancer- throughout this month, and beyond.

Reliable information about health topics like breast cancer can be difficult to find, says Anne Marie Murphy, executive director of the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force. This presents a challenge for the Task Force as it works to combat breast cancer inequalities among women from disadvantaged communities.

“Now, more than ever our community needs relevant, authentic information that truly informs, guides, and instructs,” Murphy said.

By hosting a monthly live call-in show on CAN TV, Murphy said, the Task Force meets this need for authentic information while also providing an opportunity for women watching on TV and online to ask questions.

The nonprofit health provider Hispanocare also uses CAN TV to discuss breast cancer and other health topics, reaching women across language barriers with a bilingual call-in show. This outreach to the Latino community is particularly relevant, as statistics show breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among Hispanic women.

Both the Task Force and Hispanocare are currently providing a limited number of free mammograms to those in need, and they are promoting this unique offering 24 hours a day on CAN TV42, CAN TV’s interactive bulletin board channel.

“It is critical that the women of our community learn that by obtaining regular mammograms, they can detect early stages of breast cancer, giving them a better chance of survival,” Murphy said.

More than 220,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, according to estimates. Using a wide range of tools on CAN TV, local nonprofits like Hispanocare and the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force work to give women the support they need to detect breast cancer early- and beat it.

Learn more about breast cancer- watch these programs on CAN TV:

Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Taskforce
Tuesday, October 21, at 5 p.m. on CAN TV21 and cantv.org/hotline

Hispanocare
Tuesday, November 11, at 5 p.m. on CAN TV21 and cantv.org/hotline