October Marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a time for individuals, businesses, and communities to show their support for the many people affected by breast cancer. It is also a month dedicated to promoting screening and prevention of the disease which affects one in eight women in the United States every year. Additionally, it is the second most common cancer in women in the country and represents about 30% of all new female cancers each year in the nation.
As women recover from breast cancer surgery and treatment, they can develop weakness in their arms and hands, making make everyday tasks, such as opening jars and lifting everyday objects difficult. For some women, the problems can go on for years.
Dawn Reall, a breast cancer survivor and inspiration behind the development of the EEASY Lid, while thankfully doing well today, is still unable to apply enough strength to open jars even nine years post-surgery.
When Dawn was first recovering from breast cancer surgery, she asked CCT managing partner Pete Stodd why there wasn’t a way to make opening jars easier. Pete Stodd and Jim Bach worked for ten years researching and developing a solution, which resulted in the creation of the EEASY Lid. Remarkably, the EEASY Lid is the first jar lid innovation in 75 years and makes opening jars up to 50% easier compared to traditional jar lids.
When Dawn first opened a jar with the EEASY Lid, she said:
“It was very neat to see it and to use it. I think sometimes jar lids are just too tight. There are times when you can’t get a jar open – you’re banging it to try and get it open and nothing gives, so of course you wind up passing it along to someone else to try to get it open. The EEASY Lid is a great idea that would benefit a lot of people – especially people who have any kind of disability.”
As we support Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is important to not only recognize that packaging needs to be more accessible but to take action to ensure packaging is accessible for people recovering from breast cancer treatment and surgery and anyone else experiencing challenges associated with disabilities, illness and aging.