Barbecue benefits breast health

The Rainy River District Breast Health Network held a charity barbecue Saturday at M&M Meat Shops on Second Street East.
No stranger to holding such events, franchise owner and manager Chris McKinnon had a personal reason for staging this one.
“My mom is a nurse that works underneath the [breast health network]. It’s close to my heart,” McKinnon said.
M&M Meat Shops tend to “focus a lot on charity,” he added, noting he’d be happy to continue to host barbecues in support of worthy causes.
Many people came out to enjoy hamburgers and hotdogs, as well as purchase items that were on special.
All of the proceeds went to the breast health network.
Kirk Nelson and his children, Kennedy and Connor, were among those who soaked up the sunshine while eating lunch at a picnic table set up in the parking lot.
Nelson is friends with McKinnon—and came out to support the cause with his young family.
According to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada (BCSC), the disease is the most common form of cancer among Canadian women.
Statistically, one-in-nine women is expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer in her life time.
Although breast cancer is primarily a disease women must contend with, it also is expected that 170 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and that 50 will die from it.
The BCSC encourages people to do monthly self-examinations of their breasts, and have annual mammograms, in order to detect the signs of breast cancer as early as possible.
The factors that increase the likelihood of developing breast cancer include:
•being a woman (roughly 99 percent of breast cancer occurs in women);
•age (the older you are, the higher the risk);
•having a close relative(s) with breast cancer;
•early menstruation (before age 12);
•taking hormone replacement therapy;
•late menopause;
•delaying childbirth (having your first baby after the age of 30 or never having a baby); and
•being overweight after menopause based on your Body Mass Index (BMI)
The BCSC’s website says examining yourself on a routine basis helps the individual become familiar with how breasts normally look and feel.
Having a mammography exam, as well as a clinical breast exam, also are encouraged. If you are 50 and over, the BCSC suggests you receive a mamogram every two years.