Every year October rolls around, and as a chapter we honor and advocate for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in a fun way and become educated about it. Ohavim BBG’s Annual Breast Cancer Banquet is a fall term favorite for all of its members.

We always have a bountiful dinner meal, this year’s being a Yafo banquet. Yafo is a big favorite when craving Mediterranean food and was an amazing addition to the program. As other members and I entered the event space, it was lit up with silver and pink decor and many smiling faces. We all had matching pink ribbons with rhinestones sitting on our shirts. After each table was called up to get food, we got to hear from our keynote speaker, Rina Roginsky. Rina is an Obstetrician-gynecologist with Novant Health in Charlotte. She had a presentation on breast cancer in Judaism and other parts of womanhood that are important to be aware of. She had given us many resources and new knowledge of how to access things about our body, like a detailed diagram on how to know or feel if you have breast cancer or another disease forming in your body. Doctor Roginsky’s speech was so inspirational and educational to the parents and teens in attendance, as she had spoken on topics including genetics, the disease in Judaism, her job as a whole, and anatomy.

Before last year at my very first Ohavim Annual Breast Cancer Banquet, I had no previous knowledge on my body as a woman and how to care for myself. Last year and this year I left the program with more knowledge than I had walking into it. Two of my past teachers have left in the middle of the year due to troubles with breast cancer and needing different operations. These encounters had been during my earlier teenage years and as a thirteen-year-old, I had no previous education on this wild disease that affects me as a woman and my culture.

A fellow member of Ohavim BBG, Emily Baskin, had also attended our breast cancer banquet. She shared with me that in her opinion, it is important for young women to know about breast cancer so they will be able to take care of themselves properly in the future. She is so happy that we have this program every year because it gives us an opportunity to learn more about breast cancer before branching into adulthood.

I am so grateful that my chapter has this event yearly to promote awareness and help others learn or refresh their knowledge and I strongly encourage others to have a similar event.