FARMINGDALE, NY — Angela’s Bra Boutique of Farmingdale is set to host a raffle for the majority of October — Breast Cancer Awareness Month — benefiting the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition.
From Oct. 1 through Oct. 24, the boutique, located at 223 Main Street, will put out gift baskets and packages containing gift cards from various vendors and restaurants, said owner Angela Cascio. A Main Street, Farmingdale basket is just one of the prizes Cascio plans to put out.
All money will go to the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition, a nonprofit with the goal of assisting women, men and families in the Babylon township. The charity strives to help people diagnosed with breast and gynecological cancers.
Find out what's happening in Farmingdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
People who visit Angela’s Bra Boutique can buy raffle tickets and place them in the basket of their choice. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24, the store plans to host a drawing, which will be attended by a representative from the charity. Refreshments will be served. Entrants do not have to attend the drawing to win, but all entrees must be physically made at the store.
Tickets are $5 for seven; $10 for 20 and $20 for 40.
Find out what's happening in Farmingdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Cascio said her business works regularly with the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition.
“They send women to us, and we also send women to them,” Cascio told Patch. “It was a collaboration that started when I first opened for women who need mastectomy bras, which we do carry. There’s a need out there for these women. We’ve decided that this year, we really wanted to do something to help the cause. This year, we’re doing a fundraiser.”
Cascio said she gets a lot of customers who tell her they cannot find mastectomy bras or the shop they used to go to closed down.
A mastectomy is surgery to remove a breast. Sometimes other tissues near the breast, such as lymph nodes, are also removed, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The surgery is most often used to treat breast cancer, the site states. Some mastectomies are done to help prevent breast cancer in women who have a high risk for it.
“It’s just inspiring, because we’re in the dressing room with these women, and it’s a very personal space, a safe space, and there are a lot of emotions that go through a woman that only they would know,” Cascio said. “We get to share that intimate time with them. There’s a lot. We see a lot and we hear a lot. We want to be able to help.”
Procedures such as lumpectomies often alter the size of one breast, Cascio explained. Angela’s Bra Boutique carries wireless bras with a pocket where women can place a prosthesis.
“A woman likes to feel that she’s going to look normal from the outside when she’s looking in,” Cascio said. “A lot of people will be uneven from surgeries that they’ve had.”
Cascio herself has not been diagnosed with breast cancer but knows women who have been. She encouraged everyone to get their mammography, starting with baselines at the age of 35.
“A baseline is, ‘Hey, you’re 35, we’re going to do a mammography. But we won’t start your regular mammograms until you’re 40,'” Cascio said. Every year since I turned 40, I have my mammography. There’s a mammography, and sometimes they do a sonogram on each breast. That’s the most important message that any woman can provide.”
Click Here: Virgil van Dijk Jersey Sale
For those who do not have health care, Cascio urged them to speak with someone who can help.
“There are services out there,” she said. “That’s the most important thing: early detection. When you find out that you or somebody in your family is hit by this, there are services out there, such as the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition. Some of the things they do are, if a mom is going through this difficult time and she’s unemployed and can’t help her kids with lunch, the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition will, with some of their donations, give the kid money for school lunch. It’s not just about that. It’s what they can do to help the family, which is so important.”
Click here to read a Q&A with the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.