Empowering Young Females
- Former First Lady Michelle Obama, 57, wants “to lift up the remarkable impact of women scientists around the world” on International Day of Women and Girls in Science, according to her Instagram page.
- The health advocate has always been a face of wellness: She created a first-ever task force to help stop obesity in our youth with Let’s Move!, launched a hip-hop album to encourage kids and families to make better food choices, and is currently releasing a kids cooking show on Netflix next month.
- An inspiring female in medicine, Dr. Sairah Ahmed from MD Anderson Cancer Center gave SurvivorNet some key health advice that is better than any diet out there in fight cancer: exercise. “The more physically fit you are going through your cancer treatment, the less side effects you’ll have and the faster you’ll get back to your normal quality of life.”
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The former First Lady to Barack Obama has always empowered women and leads by example with the relationships she has with daughters, Malia, 22, and Sasha, 19, and her mother, Marian, 83.
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Michelle Has Educated About Breast Cancer
During her husband’s presidency, Mrs. Obama spoke about breast cancer at an event in D.C. about how far we have come from the 80s, with the stigma of the disease. She honored the courageous women who had shared their stories. “I also want to take a moment to recognize all of the survivors and the advocates who are here today who have worked so hard and for so long to raise money and raise awareness to fight this disease,” she had said. “It’s sharing these stories that really makes a difference. It takes the veil off of this disease, because it wasn’t that long ago that people thought that breast cancer was something to be ashamed of and to keep it a secret; something that you didn’t discuss in polite company.”
Related: Obamacare Has Almost Eliminated One Type of Race-Based Cancer Disparity, New Study Says
She noted how people used to think breast cancer was contagious, and also pointed out that breast cancer used to be referred to as “women’s cancer” because the word “breast” was too risqué to print. “Survivors and those who love them started organizing and advocating and lobbying for more money, for more research, and better treatment for this disease.”
Hip Hop For Health
One of Michelle Obama’s biggest initiatives was and is her Let’s Move! organization to help combat child obesity. The music-lover created a playful hip-hop album (check out her moves below!)with artists like Travis Barker, Ariana Grande, and Ashantifor families called Songs for a Healthier America, which included songs like “U R What You Eat” and “Veggie Luv.”. Michelle just announced she and Barack are releasing a Netflix cooking show for kids (featuring puppets), called Waffles + Mochi on March 16.
Women Empowering Women
We have a feeling that Michellewho evidently likes to get her groove onwould approve of this method of people with cancer getting their move on, during chemo. Watch one of our younger breast cancer survivors use hip hop to help break the stigma of what women going through cancer should “look like.” ’90s hip hop junkie Tiffany Dyba told SurvivorNet that she would dance “shamelessly” on videos for social media during her cancer. “I think that there’s such a stigma around cancer, to where many people just think that I’m bald and sick and cowering in a corner and throwing up,” she had told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. “I sort of want to bust through those stereotypes and that stigma and say, I’m out here dancing because I feel good.” Dyba adds. On the days that I feel tired and I don’t feel good, I’m going to post about that too, and I do.”
"Hip Hop Chemo" Breast Cancer Survivor's Moves to Stop the Stigma
Women In Medicine
At SurvivorNet, we work with many incredible female doctors who are naturally inspiring younger female generations to lean toward medicine as a profession. Dr. Sairah Ahmed from MD Anderson Cancer Center told SurvivorNet in a previous interview what are some of the best ways for people with cancerespecially those going through treatmentcan have some control over this aspect of their life.
“Diet, exercise, and stress control are extremely important when going through both cancer therapy, as well as once you’re done treating your cancer and trying to get back to the rest of your life,” Dr. Ahmed said. “Often I will tell patients there is not any one diet that has better potential to keep their cancer away.” She is often asked about Keto diets (which involves intermittent fasting), alkaline diets (which focus on the PH levels in your body and in foods), and no-sugar diets.
“There is no data that shows that any of those help to treat cancer any better,” she explained, emphasizing that the one thing that definitely does help, is losing weight. “You want to have a moderate diet where you’re including lots of fruits and vegetables, but you’re still eating fat and protein.” And you will want to make sure to try to light exercise. “The more physically fit you are going through your cancer treatment, the less side effects you’ll have and the faster you’ll get back to your normal quality of life.” You should always consult with your doctor, who can also refer a nutritionist if needed, to make sure you are eating right and doing exercise that is safe for you for your individual situation.
What to Know About Diet and Exercise if You Have Cancer
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