Members of “Team Reidsville” painted two fire hydrants on Main Street pink this month in honor of October being “Breast Cancer Awareness” Month.
One fire hydrant is located at the intersection of Main and Piedmont Streets while the other is across the street from Annie Penn Hospital.
City Manager Summer Woodard, whose mother passed away from breast cancer, suggested the idea to City staff in late September. As Management Team members began painting the hydrants, each mentioned a family member or friend that was either a survivor of breast cancer or had passed away due to either that disease or some other form of cancer.
Once the hydrants were dry, members of the City’s Management Team returned to write the names of loved ones, who have been touched by breast cancer as well as other cancers.
The City is encouraging citizens throughout the month of October to bring a Sharpie to one of the two hydrants and write “In Honor of” or “In Memory of” the names of family members, friends and other loved ones, who have been affected by the disease. Those who participate and put their pictures on Facebook are asked to tag “#teamreidsville” so it will connect to the City’s Team Reidsville Facebook page to promote breast cancer awareness. Look for the pink signs located at the two hydrants.
One in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and, on average, every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with the disease here. In 2021, an estimated 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the United States, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. This year, an estimated 43,600 women in the U.S. will die from breast cancer. 63% of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a localized stage, meaning there is no sign the cancer has spread outside of the breast. In those cases, the five-year survival rate is 99%, another reason why early diagnosis is key.