Leslee’s Bits and Pieces

October is National Breast Cancer awareness Month and I began to scour the internet for relevant articles to post on my blog. I did come across a few good ones but it dawned on me how ridiculous my search was. I didn’t need someone else to write about breast cancer. I could do it. I am a breast cancer survivor and who better to write about its awareness?

First some basic facts about breast cancer.

• The lifetime risk of getting cancer is 1 out of 8. That means that 1 woman out of 8 ( 13%) who live to age 85 will get breast cancer

• White women are more likely to get breast cancer than any other race
• The older a woman is the more likely she is to get breast cancer
• Men can get breast cancer also but it is rare.
• African American woman are more like to die from Breast cancer
• If diagnosed the 5 year survival rate is 90%. That means 90 out of 100 women will still be alive at the 5 year mark ( I am hoping that applies to me as well!) A lot of woman will never have a recurrence. A woman’s chance of survival is better if the cancer is detected early before it has spread. The survival rate is 98% if the cancer is contained in the breast
• Risk factors include previous diagnosis of carcinoma in situ or hyperplasia, BRAC1 or 2 gene mutation, being a woman, being older,menopause after 55, never having children. having first child after 30, early menses before age 12, more than one alcoholic drink a day,personal history of breast or ovarian cancer, overweight, never having children, high breast density on mammogram,& currently or recently using HRT

What can we do to fight this disease?

• Women should be giving themselves monthly breast exams(BSE) Learn your body and you are better able to feel something that is going on in the breast. Do it in the shower with a soapy hand and allow the hand to glide over the area slowly looking for any abnormal changes
• yearly Clinical Breast Exams by womans doctor
• Mammograms-Mammograms  are Xrays of the breast. They can detect small changes they cannot be detected by any other means. Woman 40 and above should be getting an annual mammogram and woman with a history of breast cancer should speak with their doctor about starting mammograms before age 40.

October is the month where Breast cancer is once again put into the spotlight. You will see more pink than you will ever see in your lifetime. Pink ribbons, pink shirts, pink bows, pink hats … If that does the job getting you attention than I can deal with that nauseating color Woman need to take control of their lives and be proactive in the fight against this disease. There are many breast cancer survivors out there. They are our mothers, daughters, sisters and friends. And sadly there will be many more but by educating ourselves and being proactive in our fight against the disease we may not have to succumb to this insidious disease. Go out and get that mammogram you have been putting off. Start your self breast exams. And donate to breast cancer research. I lost my mother to this disease when I was 12 and now my son who is 9 is watching his own mother battle the disease. There are many of us, all sisters, bound by a common desire to beat and defeat the beast. I hate October. It reminds me that I have Breast Cancer. But at the same time it brings awareness to this disease and maybe by educating some woman one life will be saved. Then is is all worth it.

In my store I have breast cancer awareness bracelets that are custom made. I donate 10% of the proceeds to the Susan Komen Foundation. If you have someone you would like to support then these are beautiful bracelets to show your support for you mothers, sisters and friends.

These bracelets can be personalized so please email me if there is something you would like to change on the bracelet. For more information on breast cancer please visit www.komen.org. Most of the information presented in this blog can be verified on the komen site or the American Cancer site.

My son stopped by last night to buy a handbag off of me. His girlfriend had been by earlier in the week and fell in love with one of my amykathryn bags. They had a * one year* anniversary coming up and he told me the bag would be the gift. While he was here we got on the topic of handbags. He just doesn’t get it. Why do we carry these bags around? And why do we have so many? He told me his girlfriend had dozens of handbags and carried everything but the kitchen sink in most of them. Yes it happens. the bigger the bag the more we carry, just in case we need it. You see my son doesn’t see the handbag as a fashion statement he see it to the equivalent of a lunch bag and that is where he goes wrong. The handbag is so much more. It is an extension of the woman carrying it. It is an accessory that can change the outfit a woman is wearing. It will dress it up or can dress it down. Yesterday at Petco I saw a woman with a Gucci handbag and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. Beautiful bag and it really looked great on her. Handbags are one of the only accessories that woman buy even when they feel they don’t have the money. Outrageous amounts of money will be paid for the ultimate bag. And in the end we feel it was worth every penny

I think it will always be like this because as long as I can remember woman have carried their handbags. It’s the first thing we grab if there is a fire. Crazy huh? I feel bare without mine.

So what are the Fall trends for handbags? Metallics and Patents are hot right now. Get a bag with either one of these and you are carrying a hot bag. The clutch is also big right now After some of the larger bags that have been out there some might wonder how they can adapt to a clutch. Personally it wouldn’t work for me as it is not big enough but I love the look. Clutches are great for a night out and really can dress up an outfit.

Metallics have been in for most of 2007. One of the colors that is hot right now is silver. melie Bianco has a few totes that are absolutely gorgeous and would make a great fashion accessory especially around the holidays.

We are seeing more structured purses as well as more studded purses. Both can be currently seen in handbags this Fall.

The convertible can be seen this Fall in different styles. These bags are great. You can wear them over the shoulder, use as a clutch etc so it is very versatile. These are selling very well right now as woman seem to like a bag that can change looks for the outfit. Of course any bag that is simliar to a designer bag is a hot item. Melie Bianco has a few bags that look very similar to bags from Jimmy Chou but not the price tag!

Ultimately when choosing a bag you need to get one that will work for you. Fashion comes and goes so although it is great to take into consideration the current fads, matching the handbag to who you are will be better in the long run. Fashion can be so fickle and what is in today can be out tomorrow. I will be adding some Fall handbags to my store in the upcoming weeks. Please keep checking back. Until then take a look at some of the latest bags by Melie Bianco. Feel free to email me if you would like me to stock a particular bag of hers that is not currently in mys tore. Until the keep browsing and stay healthy

L