Lavonia Police Chief Wearing Pink Badge fro Breast Cancer Awareness Month

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR

Lavonia Police Chief Bruce Carlisle is sporting a pink police badge this month in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.

It’s the first day of October and today kicks off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time for women to focus on the importance of being screened every year for breast cancer.

Carlisle said the disease and making people aware of the disease hit home several years ago when his wife was diagnosed.

That’s why he says he wants to show his support for those suffering with the disease and emphasize the importance of annual screenings.

“This year I’ll be wearing a pink-colored badge for the entire month. The reason I’m doing this is in recognition of my wife’s journey with breast cancer,” he said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control 1 in 8 women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer and most of those are over the age of 50.

Having gone through the entire process with his wife, he noted one big concern for women is the fear the cancer might come back.

“I know seeing my wife go through the chemotherapy and the few days after treatment how sick she would be and the fear in her eyes,” he said. “The fear afterwards of it coming back is something she lives with every day.”

One area Carlisle believes is often overlooked with women suffering from breast cancer is how the men in their lives react and he has some tips for men whose wives or girlfriends are struggling with the disease.

“Be supportive. Just listen. Some of the things I did wrong during my wife’s journey was trying to fix it. You can’t fix it. So just be supportive. When you share information with you be sure to read that information and get as much information as you can. You don’t know what to do and you want it to go away but there’s nothing you can do. Sometimes it’s better to just be a listening ear, be supportive. Just be there,” he said.

Now both women and men can get breast cancer and this month is a good time to get screened; especially if you are over the age of 50 and/or have a history of breast cancer in your family.

Stephens County Hospital offers 2-D, 3-D, and Diagnostic Mammograms.

St. Mary’s Healthcare, along with other medical facilities, offers a limited number of free mammograms during the month of October.

You can get more information by calling the St. Mary’s Women’s Imaging Center at (706) 389-2300.