BUCKHANNON – In 2022, an estimated 1,470 West Virginia women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 290 women will die from the disease.

The Upshur County Commission proclaimed October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month during their Sept. 29 meeting. Craig Presar, WVU Extension Service Agent, attended the meeting and presented the proclamation on behalf of the Community Educational Outreach Services.

“There are currently five active CEOS clubs in Upshur County with roughly 82 members,” Presar said. “With COVID, we dropped a considerable number of members — we just weren’t able to be active and keep up with things, and we had a number of clubs that just decided to incorporate themselves into other clubs. But we’ve got five very active clubs.”

Those clubs performed thousands of hours of service in the Upshur County community, he noted.

“I had to double check and triple check this number — even though we’ve lost a significant amount of enrollment, our members have provided over 35,000 hours of community service to Upshur County in the past year,” Presar said. “The going rate for volunteer service, if you’re applying for grants and things like that, is $29.95 an hour.”

The CEOS clubs work together to help the community, including organizing the annual Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Buckhannon. The 2022 event will take place at the Stockert Youth and Community Center on Monday, Oct. 3 at 11 a.m.

“Registration begins at 11 a.m., followed by light lunch, and then a few guest speakers, including two breast cancer survivors,” Presar said. “They’re going to be selling raffle tickets for a $100 gift card, and the proceeds from that will be donated to the West Virginia Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program. And we can’t forget the ever-popular door prizes that will be there too.”

Here’s the full text of the proclamation:

In 2022, an estimated 1,470 West Virginia women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 290 women will die from the disease. Breast cancer continues to be a leading cause of cancer related deaths among WV women.

A woman has about a 1 in 8 (13 percent) chance of developing breast cancer in her lifetime and about a 1 in 39 (3 percent) chance of dying from the disease.

Currently, the best method to reduce deaths due to breast cancer is through early detection of the disease. Women age 50 and older should have a mammogram every year. Women ages 40-49 should talk with their health care provider about their screening schedule. Mammograms can save lives. Women should talk to their health care provider about their individual screening schedule.

In recognition of the important lifesaving early detection practices available for breast cancer, we the Commissioners of Upshur County, do hereby proclaim October 3, 2022, as West Virginia Breast Cancer Awareness Day and October 2022 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We urge all Upshur County women to become aware that they are at risk for developing breast cancer and to discuss screening with their health care providers.