Breast Cancer Awareness- Misty Schmidt & iBass360 Waging Front Line Battle

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States. Fortunately, millions of women are surviving the disease thanks in part to AWARENESS- testing and early detection, and improvements in treatment. Texas angler Misty Schmidt knows the struggleand having lost her best friend but also having survivors among those closest to her. My sister is a survivor, a warrior, and my father-in-law was a survivor for many years! Trust me, when the Big C touches someone you love, it becomes very real. The American Cancer Society is actively fighting breast cancer by helping women get tested to detect any cancer as early as possible and by helping men to be more aware that they are not immune. I know for a fact that it was early detection that gave my sister the choices and opportunities to lead as normal a life as possible during the pre-op, op and post-op phases of the battle.

Pink Fishing is a very tangible way the fishing community supporting the cause. Pink Fishing

sponsors anglers and tournaments as very visible ways of increasing awareness and raising money for research. Misty has organized a great event to be held November 14th on Cedar Creek Lake in Texas. iBass360 is a sponsor and will have a very strong member presence.

The organizations advancing research also stand shoulder to shoulder with those diagnosed, helping them understand their treatment options and cope with the physical and emotional side effects. The research funded by their efforts helps prevent, detect, and treat breast cancer. It also funds the leading edge research that will ultimately lead to the end to this disease's ability to claim lives.

So what is AWARENESS all about? First and foremost, awareness is providing information- TV, radio, the various print outlets, social media, websites and much more. Information is a

powerful weapon to anyone trying to reduce the risk of breast cancer, Information increases the probability of early diagnosis as well as arming those diagnosed with the options they require to deal and cope with the emotional roller coaster of diagnosis, treatment, recovery and monitoring phases required to defeat this disease. Organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the National Breast Cancer Foundation have comprehensive information available from their websites.

It is always good to review the facts: In 2017, an estimated 316,120 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed among women, and 2,470 cases were diagnosed in men. It was reported that 40,610 women and 460 men died from breast cancer. More than 3.5 million US women either had or were still fighting the fight with breast cancer. Some of these women were cancer-free, while others still had evidence of cancer and were undergoing treatment. The incidence and the death rates due to breast cancer generally increase with age. The median age for those diagnosed with breast cancer is 62. This means that half of the women who developed breast cancer were younger than 62 at the time of diagnosis. It is interesting to note that the median age of diagnosis is younger for black women (59) than it is for white women (63).

 Hopefully you, as a member of the fishing community, are thinking as you read this,

what can I do? I can tell Misty Schmidt would respond in a loud voice, GET INVOLVED! In addition to organizing the upcoming tournament, Misty mounted a very visible campaign to promote

awareness by having a Pink Fishing awareness T-shirt signed by an amazing number of leaders in the fishing industry, including many superstar pro anglers. Her shirt includes autographs of survivors as well as family members of loved ones who have lost the battle. Others contribute money by purchasing merchandise from Companies who contribute proceeds to organizations committed to funding awareness, research and support activities. Pink Fishing is one such organization- raising money through both merchandise and tournaments. Never doubt that your support can help raise awareness and that your donation can make a difference in funding efforts that ultimately reduce risk, provide awareness programs and testing, and fund groundbreaking research. Your efforts will surely help others to Live The Passion!  

Eric S. Evans is the Social Media Manager and Blog Editor for iBass360. Eric splits his time between the Alabama and Philadelphia areas fishing the Delaware River and other PA, NY and NJ fisheries as well as those in the Tennessee River Valley. iBass360 was founded on the principles of increasing health issue awareness for men and women anglers and promote giving back to

their communities.