Figures show there were 2,020 new cases of breast cancer in 2001. Elaine Edwards reports.
An international campaign that has raised an estimated €30 million for breast cancer charities will bring its novel fundraising initiative to Ireland this week.
Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC), pioneered by fashion giant Ralph Lauren in the US in 1994, will raise money for two breast cancer charities here through the sale of designer T-shirts bearing a distinctive bullseye target logo.
Fashion and philanthropy are not two words often seen in the same sentence, but in fact the multi-billion dollar industry has done much to raise money for charities worldwide and to raise awareness of issues such as HIV/Aids and cancer.
FTBC is run by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), which has also raised funds for Lance Armstrong's highly successful Wear Yellow/Live Strong cancer campaign.
Elle McPherson, international supermodel and businesswoman, will be in Dublin to lend her support to the project tomorrow.
The T-shirts, which cost €30 and €35, will be sold only through Brown Thomas, BT2 and selected A/wear stores.
Some 95 per cent of the money raised from sales will go to the Irish Cancer Society's Action Breast Cancer project (ABC).
The services of ABC are free and include a national helpline (1800 30 90 40) staffed by cancer nurses, one-to-one support and advocacy.
The other 5 per cent will go to Europa Donna Ireland, a patient advocacy group which operates in 37 countries campaigning for equal access to diagnostic and treatment services for women with breast cancer.
Latest figures from the National Cancer Registry show there were 2,020 new cases of breast cancer here in 2001.
Some 288 of these, over 14 per cent, were in women under 45. In that year, 671 women died from the disease. There were 14 new cases of breast cancer in men in the same year.
According to the Irish Cancer Society, breast cancer has overtaken both lung and colo-rectal cancer to become the second most common cancer in Ireland, after non-melanoma skin cancer.
Abby Langtry, project leader of Action Breast Cancer, said the group hopes as many women as possible will buy one the T-shirts to support a better future for all those diagnosed with breast cancer.