Saturday, October 8, 2016
Graniteville • Vaucluse • Warrenville
Vol. 2, No. 10
October has arrived by Anne Fulcher After a long and brutal summer, fall is finally in the air! College football, tailgating, fall festivals and the list goes on and on of wonderful things happening in October. Then let us not forget Halloween where children, and many adults, enjoy dressing up and trick or treating. But October has some very somber events with the most visible one being Breast Cancer Awareness month. I am sure each and every one of you knows someone who has been affected by breast cancer. Cancer knows no age, race, culture or gender. Many people do not realize that men can get breast cancer also. Next year 2,350 cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in men and 440 of those men will die from this evil disease. In the October, 2015 edition of the GVW Report I wrote about my dear friend, Yvonne Johnson, and her breast cancer diagnosis in September of last year at the young age of 40. I am honored to have Yvonne and 3 other survivors grace the back cover of this year’s October GVW Report. When I opened
the email from Aiken Regional Medical Center’s marketing department and saw Yvonne being one of the ladies highlighted, I cried. I am so happy to say that Yvonne is doing great and enjoying her new granddaughter. Unfortunately, others have not been so lucky. While a student at USC Aiken, I became friends with a vibrant young woman named Keyah Gibson. Keyah was fierce in every way and I loved her spirit. Unfortunately, Keyah did not survive her battle with breast cancer. On April 1st of this year, at the age of 25, Keyah lost her battle with breast
cancer. One of the last lunches we had together in Aiken, I gave her a Rosary I had gotten her from the Vatican in Rome. She kept it with her everywhere she went. I sure do love and miss that girl but now I have a fierce Angel in Heaven. October is also National Domestic Violence Month, yet another killer among us. Have you ever known anyone in an abusive relationship? It is not a pretty sight. Here are some staggering statistics based on the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). Every 9 seconds in the U.S.,
a woman is assaulted or beaten. One in three women and one in four men have been physically abused by an intimate partner. The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%. Domestic violence is in every community and affects all people regardless of age, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, or nationality, just like breast cancer. Unfortunately, domestic violence can result in physical injury, emotional trauma and even death. Victims of domestic violence lose a total of 8 million days of paid work each year. “Between 2003 and 2008, 142 women were murdered in their workplace by former or current intimate partners” says the NCADV. . PLEASE, if you or anyone you know is a victim of domestic violence, get help. I know this has been a serious editorial this month but please just take care of yourself. Get your routine mammograms, do routine breast exams and if you are a victim of domestic violence call 211 or either call the Cumbee Center in Aiken at 803-641-4162.