Southern California

Boarding for Breast Cancer: App Helps Cancer Prevention

The Hermosa Beach-based organization created an app in September to put their message of awareness in the hands of anyone with a cellphone or tablet

A Southern California organization is taking to the digital realm to urge people of all ages to get screenings and perform self-exams for breast cancer.

Started in 1996 by a group of professional snowboarders, Boarding for Breast Cancer or B4BC, aims to reach women and men who at times are more interested in play and surf than self-exams and doctor’s appointments.

"There is no cure that we know of so its boiling it down to the simple ways you can integrate health and wellness into your daily life," said Erika Seward, B4BC executive director. "It is about the community supporting and believing in the overall mission advocating for young women and girls."

The Hermosa Beach-based organization created an app in September to put their message of awareness in the hands of anyone with a cellphone or tablet.

From showing women how to conduct self-breast exams to setting alerts on when you should do them, the app is interactive, free and available on Apple or Android devices.

It also includes healthy recipes included in a cookbook B4BC just put together that can be downloaded for a $5 donation to the non-profit organization.

"That helps prompt the dialogue into you need to know this information, do your monthly self-checks but also the importance of day to day living and things you can do to help reduce your risk," Seward said.

Megan Pischke tackled her breast cancer head-on. For the professional snowboarder, it’s sort of her style. She received her diagnosis in 2012 just months after performing in a B4BC retreat mixing boarding, yoga and nutritional advice for breast cancer survivors.

"I look back at all the years and all the incredible young women that I met and all women of all ages that I met who had survived this who had been happy," Pischke said "It's an important thing to tell people to be aware of their health, to be aware of their body, and to stand up for themselves."

Pischke did just that as she treated her cancer with non-traditional methods including the cold caps NBC4 reported last year that saves the hair during chemotherapy.


"My main goal was to not only get through this but never ever have to deal with this again, ever," she said.

Her experience is now documented in a film sponsored by North Face and B4BC called "Chasing Sunshine."

"That's how I was living on those rainy days dark days, painful days," Pischke said. "I was like, the sun is going to come back out. It's coming, I know it is."

Pischke says the message to young people from both her and the folks at B4BC is simple.

"It's just empowering them. It's making life exciting and a little less serious when you are talking about breast cancer," Pischke said. "I want people to feel hope, I really do, because there's so much of it out there."



 

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