You all know how much I enjoy living a healthy, active lifestyle as well as my passion for empowerment – it’s part of my identity and what makes me, me. This is why, with Breast Cancer Awareness Month now over, I’d like to reflect upon how much I have enjoyed researching and writing about Reach for Recovery’s extraordinary initiative, The Ditto Project.
To summarise, The Ditto Project helps breast cancer survivors from lower income groups to feel confident again by providing them with a silicon breast prosthesis, an artificial breast which can be worn in the bra to simulate the natural breast and body shape. This has a positive effect on the women emotionally, as they get back in touch with their bodies and are no longer physically reminded of the trauma when wearing the prostheses. It also helps these women to “blend in” in their respective communities as, while many of them are proud to be a breast cancer survivor and share their story, there are some individuals who would prefer to keep their battle private, only sharing it with their nearest and dearest. For these women, they no longer need to feel that people are staring at their flat chests or fear being stigmatised by the tell-tale sign of enduring breast cancer.
For me, it’s all well and good being inundated with information on breast cancer for one month each year but for those of us who have been blessed enough to have not suffered from the disease, it’s relatively easy to forget about it the rest of the time, unless you have someone close to you who it is affecting. I say no more! We all need to do our part to keep breast cancer and our fighter sisters front of mind, talk about breast cancer, share stories and get involved in positive initiatives such as The Ditto Project.
By researching and chatting to Reach for Recovery, Dr Justus Apffelstaedt and one of the patients who received a prosthesis, I can say with absolute certainty that I stand behind The Ditto Project and hope that my series of posts, all still available on my blog, will help to share the word and bring some much needed attention to the cause.
So how can you can you get involved in The Ditto Project?
If you would like to become a volunteer for Reach for Recovery and help them to make a difference in the lives of breast cancer patients, whether you engage in events, fundraising, community education, practical and emotional support or administrative tasks, you can find out more information here.
Reach for Recovery is an NGO which relies entirely on donations and volunteer work and, at approximately R2000 (or more) per patient, it’s easy to see why. This truly is an organisation I encourage everyone to put their weight behind! To donate towards The Ditto Project, click here and pay via EFT or Snapscan.
Thank you, Reach for Recovery, for all that you do and for allowing me to spread the word on your fantastic initiative.