7th annual Boob Print Night goes virtual for one week
The print must go on! online that is. This year’s 7th annual Boob print “night” will be turning to the internet for one whole week of fun and fundraising on October 19th to 24th 2020.
October is Breast cancer awareness month and local mom and owner of Fired Up! Ceramics is no stranger to the havoc the disease can cause a family. In the spring of 2013 Janna’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in one breast during a routine mammogram. “Getting the phone call when she told me she had cancer was strangely surreal” Janna recalls “ I remember thinking ‘oh, she has cancer, but she’s my mom so she can’t die.”
Over the next few months, Janna’s mom, Laura, was to undergo a lumpectomy and several rounds of radiation therapy and then 5 years of a heavy anti-cancer drug called Tamoxifen. Thankfully, in 2018 Laura was declared cancer free.
“While my mom is an incredible warrior, the turmoil that cancer brought to our family needs to be talked about. It’s my hope that through research we might be able to bring better treatment options to patients.” Janna explains how cancer, the treatment and the aftermath can be so hard for families going through it. Tamoxifen causes some major side effects in the women who take it. It can cause hot flashes, headaches, depression, fatigue, mood swings and nausea. Laura unfortunately had most of these for the entire five years she was taking the drug. On top of the drug side effects, radiation treatment can cause many side effects also. Being centred on the body in order to be aimed at a lump in the breast, the radiation also hit Laura’s lungs. Consequently Laura still has a chronic cough and a decreased lung capacity.
“The physical effects of cancer are often talked about and are certainly hard enough to handle, and the psychological effects are so very rarely talked about and so very real.” Says Janna. Anger, fer, stress and depression are very real and very difficult to deal with. Janna hopes that by talking about all of the effects on a family who has a member diagnosed with cancer more people might be willing to join the fight to find an end to cancer.
The week of October 19th to the 24th every night at 7pm Janna and her team will be hosting Facebook and Instagram live sessions where they will engage with viewers. There are many prizes to be won and fun to be had with live prize giveaways and even a live boob print demonstration. An easy way for anyone to participate is to paint their own boob print week themed project by ordering a paint at home kit from the website www.shop.firedupceramics.ca where 50% of the proceeds will be donated. If community members are looking to participate in other ways, Fired Up! Is currently hosting painters in the studio with COVID-19 procedures in place. Patrons can book a seat online and paint in the studio at their desired time. Boob print week will culminate on October 24th with a live paint-a-long when all of the Fired Up! Staff will be painting in the studio on Facebook and Instagram live and they invite you to paint along with them. The grand prize winner will be announced along with other prizes and fun, witty banter.
Over the last 6 years the Fired Up! Community has raised over $2000 for the cause. This year Janna and her team have set a goal of $1000 raised over the week.
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