Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) will host its Field of Women event on the weekend of 11 and 12 August. Fun, family activities will be held in Yarra Park to raise awareness around breast cancer and funds for BCNA.
To ensure the event’s impact is far reaching, thousands of people in pink ponchos will stand together on the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 12 August in the shape of the Pink Lady before the Melbourne vs Sydney Swans AFL match to represent the 18,235 Australians who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018.
Running in conjunction with Field of Women, BCNA will also its national conferences for women who are breast cancer survivors. Plan B is the conference stream for people with early breast cancer, and Plan C is for people diagnosed with metastatic (that is, incurable) breast cancer. More than 600 people will be travelling from all around Australia to attend the conferences and an additional 300 people have registered to watch the Plan B conference live stream. The conference will feature BCNA CEO Kirsten Pilatti, Olympian Raelene Boyle, Victorian Minister for Health Jill Hennessy and breast cancer survivors.
The conference is a Cancer Australia Supporting Women in Rural Areas Diagnosed With Breast Cancer Program initiative, funded by the Australian Government. BCNA was founded 20 years to start a conversation about breast cancer, which was at the time rarely talked about. BCNA is not a business but a network of more than 120,000 members. More than 90 per cent of BCNA members have had a diagnosis of breast cancer. The pink woman logo of the BCNA is to represent the people rather than the disease. Throughout 2018, BCNA will continue to scan the horizon for developing issues which are relevant to the needs and interests of Australians affected by breast cancer.
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