AIDS AWARENESS MONTH

December is AIDS Awareness Month, a perfect opportunity to educate ourselves on AIDS & HIV. Unfortunately, the negative stigma tied to AIDS keeps us from being as 'interested' in learning about it as some of the other 'more popular' life-threatening illnesses and diseases. Couple that with the overall feeling of most of us that 'it will never happen to us' and you have a serious disease that is neglected and even shunned by the vast majority. I myself have been guilty of keeping AIDS 'at a distance' because 'I'll never get it' and/or 'it doesn't affect me'. However, I've learned through my Awareness Shop that real people are affected by AIDS & HIV every day, undoubtedly, in devastating ways at times. It's sad to see name after name of people from all over the World purchasing t-shirts with sayings like 'In the Fight against AIDS because I love my Brother'. Obviously, as the Shop Owner and Designer I'm happy for the sales but, as with pretty much all of my sales, it's bittersweet. I absolutely could not own this Shop and not give back to Research and Awareness efforts which I do regularly. But I'm vearing off topic.....

It is up to each of us to educate ourselves and to become Aware of AIDS, its causes, its treatments (or lack thereof), HIV prevention, and most importantly to share what we learn with others so that hopefully this negative stereotype that we've pinned to those who are infected can be a thing of the past. Until the majority is behind the AIDS Awareness Movement , progress will be stifled. We must all, as a single Voice, demand a Cure whether we are directly affected or not. It's just the right thing to do.

Next year, we plan to expand our AIDS/HIV section significantly but for now, in honor of AIDS Awareness Month, we have released several AIDS Awareness Month designs all of which are available on a variety of t-shirts, sweatshirts, tote bags, mugs, stickers, buttons, and lots more apparel & gifts. Here are a couple of them:

CLICK IMAGE TO SEE THE DESIGN ON LOTS OF AIDS AWARENESS T-SHIRTS, APPAREL, & GIFTS.

Til next time :-)

IF YOU LINKED TO THIS BLOG ARTICLE FROM OUR SHOP AND NEED TO GO BACK CLICK HERE:

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A Great Time To Quit Smoking

As I mentioned in my previous post, many important Causes are observed during the month of November. Lung Cancer is one of them. What better time to quit smoking :-) My husband, who is a physician, brought home a flyer recently from the hospital where he is employed. In light of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, they have been handing them out to patients. The name of it is "When A Smoker Quits". He thought it might be something beneficial to share with a few of our 'smoker' relatives and friends. Since, I consider everyone who reads my Blog friends I didn't want to exclude you :-) Anyway, the flyer describes what improvements are happening in your body from the first 20 minutes after that last cigarette. I, for one, was quite surprised. Read for yourself:

WHEN SMOKERS QUIT

Within 20 minutes of smoking that last cigarette, the body begins a series of changes that continues for years.

20 MINUTES

• Blood pressure drops to normal
• Pulse rate drops to normal
• Body temperature of hands & feet increases to normal

8 HOURS

• Carbon monoxide level in blood drops to normal
• Oxygen level in blood increases to normal

24 HOURS

• Chance of heart attack begins decreasing

48 HOURS

• Nerve endings start regrowing
• Ability to taste & smell is enhanced

2 WEEKS TO 3 MONTHS

• Circulation improves
• Walking becomes easier
• Lung function increases up to 30%

1 TO 9 MONTHS

• Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, shortness of breath decrease
• Cilia regrow in lungs, increasing ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, reduce infection
• Body's overall energy level steadily increases

1 YEAR

• Excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker

5 YEARS

• Lung Cancer death rate for average former smoker (one pack a day) decreases by almost half
• Stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5-15 years after quitting
• Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, and esophagus in half that of a smoker's

10 YEARS

• Lung Cancer death rate similar to that of nonsmokers
• Precancerous cells are replaced by normal ones
• Risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, & pancreas decreases

15 YEARS

• Risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker

END

These facts came from the American Lung Association and I, in no way, can personally guarantee that someone who quits smoking will experience these exact results. I am simply passing on valuable information from an extremely reliable source (it's a shame but I gotta put all of this in here for liability and legal reasons).

Please "put it out" for good. Do it for those who love you. Do it for yourself.

Sandy

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New Alzheimer's Awareness Month Designs

Awareness Gift Boutique has just released 4 new Collections of Alzheimer's Disease Awareness designs. Every 71 seconds someone in America develops Alzheimer's. Presently, 5.2 million Americans have been diagnosed with this terrible disease. It's easy to not think about it or to be too concerned about 'losing our memories' when we're young but we WILL grow older and Alzheimers WILL be something that we should, at the very least, know something about. I encourage everyone to learn about this disease and to know its symptoms so that if there ever is a time that it makes its way into your or a Loved One's life, you will be educated on how to recognize it and care for it. What better time to become Educated than now, November, Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month.

HERE IS A SAMPLING OF OUR NEW ALZHEIMER'S AWARENESS MONTH DESIGNS.

CLICK ON THE T-SHIRT TO SEE THAT DESIGN ON LOTS OF GREAT APPAREL & GIFTS.

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November Awareness

The month of November is the official National Awareness Month for several very important Causes including Lung Cancer & Pulmonary Hypertension, Alzheimer's Disease, Diabetes, and Pancreatic Cancer. I would like to encourage everyone to learn something new about each of these Diseases during this Month of Observance. As is the case with pretty much every illness, Early Detection is the key to Survival. And for Early Detection to happen you must know a little bit about the illness in order to recognize it or its symptoms. So, take a moment this month and read up on Lung Cancer, Pulmonary Hypertension, Alzheimer's Disease, Diabetes, and Pancreatic Cancer. Awareness is crucial. Just a little bit of time could literally save your or a Loved One's Life.

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Awareness Gift Boutique Introduces 'Take Down Cancer' Collection

Hi,

My name is Sandy and I am the Owner/Designer for Awareness Gift Boutique. I'll begin this Blog with our recent Press Release.

PRESS RELEASE:
Awareness Gift Boutique, a 2-year old CafePress Shop, has introduced a new design Collection entitled 'Take Down Cancer'. There are several variations of the design available, from Bold to Simple to Graffiti-Style & more, to ensure that everyone finds something to suit their taste. In addition to the standard 'Take Down Cancer' version, specific-cancer versions are available as well such as 'Take Down Ovarian Cancer', 'Take Down Lung Cancer', 'Take Down Breast Cancer', 'Take Down Pancreatic Cancer', 'Take Down Colon Cancer', with many more on the way. Presently, customers have 4 variations of each cancer set to choose from. The designs are offered on t-shirts, sweatshirts, buttons, stickers, and lots of other apparel & gifts. A portion of the profits from this design is donated to medical research as is the case with all of Awareness Gift Boutique sales. It's time that we gather together and Take Down Cancer and the designs in this Collection are the perfect way to get that message out. It should be noted that neither Awareness Gift Boutique nor the 'Take Down Cancer' Collection are related in any way to standup2cancer.org or to the 'Stand Up 2 Cancer' aka 'Stand Up To Cancer' designs offered by standup2cancer.org.

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