The American Cancer Society has launched a campaign called “Choose You” aimed at woman. Chuck Reed is a spokesperson for the Iowa Chapter of the society. Reed says the “Choose You” program is designed to encourage women to set aside 30 minutes a day for themselves. He says the American Cancer Society did a survey and found that 95-percent of women said they need to improve their lifestyles. Reed says women tend to be more proactive in keep those around them healthy than they are for themselves.
“Women are often the chief health officer of the house, you know always reminding the husband…to go to the doctor to get your checkup, and they drive the kids to their appointments — but for themselves, they often put themselves last,” Reed says. Reed says surveys show women don’t realize that changes in lifestyle can dramatically cut their cancer risk.
He says women can make healthy lifestyle choices — things like stopping smoking, eating better, getting 30 minutes of exercise a day five days a week — which can all drastically cut their chances of getting cancer. Wednesday May 12 is designated as “Choose You Day” and Reed says women are encouraged to wear blue and think about their whole health. He says other campaigns have successfully targeted individual cancers, but they want women to think about the bigger picture.
“You know, while pink is often tied to breast cancer, there is a lot more cancer out there then just breast cancer, you know, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, skin cancer, all those things I think a lot of people take for granted, they focus on pink and breast cancer, but there’s a lot more to it than that,” Reed explains.
Reed says one in right women will get breast cancer in their lifetime, while one in three women overall will get cancer in their lifetime. You can go to the ChooseYou.com website to find out more about the program and to get hints for improving your overall health.