To encourage women 20 years of age and older to perform monthly breast self-exams, First BaSE for Women has developed a unique Breast Self-Exam Shower Kit that contains 12 small bath gels—one to use for each monthly breast exam. The Kit was designed to remind women to check for breast lumps and abnormalities each month. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Kit go to the First BaSE Foundation, which awards grants to women with breast cancer.

Breast self-examination (BSE) is an essential part of every adult woman’s personal health regimen. Regularly examining their own breasts allows women to become familiar with how their breasts normally look and feel and can help them more readily detect any changes that may occur. Breast self-exams should be performed once each month by all women 20 years of age and older. Women over age 20 should also receive regular physician-performed clinical breast exams, and women 40 years of age and older should also receive yearly mammograms to help detect breast cancer in its earliest stages when it can often be successfully treated.

The Breast Self-Exam Shower Kit is a nine-inch by nine-inch by four-inch case with 12 one-ounce bath gels. The lightly fragranced, translucent light pink gels are designed for women to use during their breast self-exams to help their hands glide smoothly over the breasts.

The shower case can be secured to a shower wall with a heavy-duty, waterproof Velcro pad. The Kit can also be placed on a shelf or on the floor of the shower, although First BaSE for Women recommends that the Kit be kept in the shower so women will remember to perform their monthly breast self-exams.

According to First BaSE for Women, 50% of the net profits from the sale of each Shower Kit are donated to the new First BaSE Foundation. The Foundation is a private, donor-advised fund established by First BaSE for Women, LLC to provide financial assistance to women who have breast cancer to help improve their quality of life.

"Our grants will be awarded to women living with breast cancer to improve their lives in some small, but meaningful way," according to a statement by Kathleen Gibbons, Executive Director of the First BaSE Foundation. "Maybe it's a wig, maybe it's a new wardrobe following treatment or surgery. Some women need to hire a baby-sitter so they can attend support group meetings, or they want to take their family on a trip to regroup. Only the women with the disease know best what they need to get through their experience."

The First Grant was awarded on July 12, 2001 to Jodi Christenson of Westerville, Ohio. Christenson was diagnosed with Stage IV (advanced) breast cancer in 1996. The grant provided Jodi and her husband the opportunity to travel to Hawaii to visit their first born grandchild.

According to the First BaSE Foundation, grants for breast cancer patients will be awarded on a monthly basis in 2002, based on funding from sales of the Breast Self-Exam Shower Kit. Anyone can nominate a breast cancer patient for a grant. Nominees must have been diagnosed with breast cancer within the previous three years (this information must be verified by a letter from a physician or a copy of a medical record or insurance form before the grant will be awarded). Nominees must agree to their nomination by signing the application form. Nomination forms are available at http://www.bsekits.com/.

The Breast Self-Exam Shower Kit may be ordered by calling 1.866.BSE.KITS (1.866.273.5487) or by visiting http://www.bsekits.com/. Kits will also be available in the coming months at select retail locations. Women are also encouraged to ask their physicians or local breast care centers for Shower Kit order forms.

• To learn more about the First BaSE Breast Self-Exam Shower Kit, the First BaSE Foundation, or to order a Kit, please visit http://www.bsekits.com/
• To learn more about breast self-exam, please visit
  http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/bse.asp