Kylie and Belinda two stories, one message
IT IS an unhappy coincidence that on the same day one of Australia's most beloved daughters made a triumphant return to the stage after breast cancer, another sadly succumbed to it. Kylie Minogue last night lit up the Sydney Entertainment Centre with her Showgirl Homecoming tour, 18 months after being diagnosed with the disease and cancelling her Australian shows to have immediate treatment.
In the same city, earlier that day, popular actress Belinda Emmett died in hospital after battling cancer for many years. She was 32. Emmett was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998 when she was just 23, undergoing surgery and radiotherapy to combat it. But three years after defeating the disease, she was diagnosed with secondary cancer in her bones, and this time doctors told her it would end her life.
Minogue and Emmett have inspired many with the courage and openness with which they dealt with their illnesses, and their experiences have raised awareness of breast cancer and encouraged many women to have themselves checked for the disease.
Their respective stories also emphasise the importance of early detection and treatment. While Minogue had treatment as soon as a lump was found in her breast, Emmett has said that she had first noticed the lump in her breast when she was 21, but did not tell anyone or seek treatment until much later, losing crucial treatment time.
Although the survival rate for breast cancer has improved markedly in recent years, it remains the most common cancer in Australian women, and few people will go through their lives without knowing someone who has had the disease.
It is to be hoped that while researchers continue to work towards better prevention and treatment of all forms of cancer, Minogue and Emmett's stories will continue to raise awareness of cancer, inspiring people to have any lumps or changes in their bodies checked out immediately, and give themselves the best chance of beating the disease.
THANKS GUYS for all the bids on the bra. Great effort.
STACEY D