Sugar Grove woman to lead breast cancer awareness rally

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a breast cancer prevention rally will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Free Speech Pavilion at the corner of Jackson and Webster Avenues in downtown Naperville.

The rally will be led by health coaches and Food for Life instructors Ellen Svehla of Sugar Grove and Sharmila Vedam of Naperville.

Breast cancer survivors and advocates will attend, according to a news release from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. They will be joined by several drummers who will help the assembled group “beat [the drums for] breast cancer.”

“I am so passionate about spreading the word to help others learn how they can take steps to reduce and prevent breast cancer because my mother died of breast cancer and every single woman in my family, other than me, has been diagnosed with breast cancer,” Svehla said in the release.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit with 17,000 doctors, is in charge of the Naperville rally, as well as other free rallies worldwide. The rallies are part of the committee’s “Let’s Beat Breast Cancer” challenge that began Sept. 7, according to the release.

The rallies feature marching band performances, testimonials and plant-based food samples, according to the release.

The committee promotes its Food for Life program, which is a nutrition education and cooking program.

Only 28% of U.S. women are aware of the link between diet and breast cancer despite one in eight women being diagnosed with the disease, according to the release.

“It’s clear that millions of women have yet to hear the lifesaving message that what they eat and drink strongly influences their chances of developing breast cancer,” Dr. Kristi Funk, a breast cancer surgeon and leading prevention expert, said in the release. “Science shows nearly 50% of cases are preventable through diet and lifestyle, at least in theory, and in my opinion, 80% to 90% of cases could be avoided.”

To reduce breast cancer risk, people should eat a whole food, plant-based diet, exercise regularly, limit alcohol and maintain a healthy weight, according to the release.

For more information, visit LetsBeatBreastCancer.org.