october is breast cancer awareness month.

In 2011, an estimated 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women.

In 2011, approximately 39,520 women are expected to die from breast cancer.

In 2011, about 2,140 cases of breast cancer are expected to occur among men; approximately 450 men will die from breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers. The chance of developing invasive breast cancer at some time in a woman's life is a little less than 1 in 8 (12%).

We are incredibly fortunate to have so many people, men and women alike, promoting breast cancer awareness in the year 2011. Advances in technology and increases in donations for research and assistance has allowed us to save thousands of lives. The tragedy of it all is that there is no cure and there is no sure way to prevent breast cancer, which is why regular mammograms are so important for early detection. Strategies that may help prevent breast cancer include avoiding weight gain and obesity, engaging in regular physical activity, and minimizing alcohol intake (American Cancer Society). Women, I urge you to contact your doctor for more information about breast cancer detection. Men, I urge you to enlighten yourselves and to share with the women in your life about the importance of being educated about this disease. Please visit the American Cancer Society Website sometime this month in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness. Together, we can all work towards finding a cure and saving lives.

an amazing organization; "the shine project."

For those of you unfamiliar with the blogging world, it truly is a little community of it's own. Technology has allowed us all to become exposed to the thoughts, ideas, and lives of people all over the world, whether that's via advances in transportation, communication., or otherwise. Blogging has already connected me with so many inspirational and wonderful people strangers! How cool is that? One of those people is Ashley- you can find her over on "The Shine Project."

"The Shine Project gives daily motivation and inspiration to encourage people to go after their dreams. My goal is to influence people to do hard things, and reach out to make a difference in their communities. I believe that everyone should feel beautiful and important, and I try to create an online community where that feeling comes with every visit to my blog."

The work she has done since she founded the organization in January has been incredible and the community support has been unbelievable. Ashley is the epitome of making dreams come true, both her own and other peoples. She posts weekly challenges to inspire us all to make a difference in someone's life, whether it's through volunteering, sharing kind words, teaching others, spreading love, or simply writing a letter. Ashley reminds us of our immense potential to change lives. We should all focus our lives around spreading positive, hopeful and inspirational vibes every day.  I couldn't agree with her mission more, especially because a lot of the reason I write this blog is to inspire my readers to discover their own personal potential.

So you are probably wondering how I happened to come across "The Shine Project." I found Raven's Blog by chance and she was doing a giveaway for a Shine necklace, courtesy of Ashley's amazing organization. All proceeds from her necklaces go to the Shine Project Scholarship award, which will help inner school students pursue a college education. Well, guess who won Raven's giveaway? I checked my mailbox yesterday and look what I found.

 Now I have a daily reminder to go confidently in the direction of my dreams.