By Julie Dockstader Heaps

No one is unaffected by breast cancer – whether it be your mother, wife, sister, family member or female friend.

That is the message Joel Johnson, vice president of communications for Star Valley Medical Center, hopes to send to the community during October Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The statistics, he said, are alarming. “Breast cancer is the most common cancer with women across the U.S.  Every two minutes, there is a female diagnosed with breast cancer. And it will eventually affect one in eight women over the course of their lifetime.”

This is a conversation everyone should be having, Johnson emphasized during SVI Media’s radio broadcast of Health Topics Tuesday.

To jumpstart these conversations, Star Valley Medical Center is hosting a plethora of events this month, including the following:

>  Break for Breakfast, Wednesday morning, Oct. 3, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., in four valley locations: in front of the medical center on Doc Perks Lane, in Alpine across from the clinic on Highway 89, in Thayne on Peterson Parkway in front of the clinics, and in the parking lot of the Cokeville clinic. Pull up in your car, Johnson said, and receive a continental breakfast bag with literature on breast cancer.  The clinics are prepared for up to 1,400 people, so it’s breakfast while supplies last.

>  Pink Paint Night, Oct. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the Thayne Community Center. Register online at svmcwy.org.

>  Pink Games, Oct. 11-12. Wear pink and come support local high school volleyball and football on those respective days.

>  No appointment necessary mammography, Oct. 17, at Star Valley Medical Center, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., first come, first served.

Johnson urged valley residents to talk about breast cancer. “I want to encourage the men out there to talk to the women in their lives. I’ve been affected. Some family members have passed away from breast cancer.

“Just talk about it. Early detection is the key. We brought in 3D mammography two years ago, so we’ve got the latest and greatest in technology. If you catch breast cancer early enough, statistically you will be a survivor.”