As The Bold and the Beautiful tackles an important health issue on-screen, bringing awareness to kidney disease and organ transplants via the emotional storyline surrounding Katie Logan (Heather Tom), the character's sister, Jennifer Gareis (Donna Logan), is tackling an important health issue off-screen.
Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Gareis took her fans behind the scenes of her recent mammogram. The actress posted a photo of herself in her doctor's office, writing, "This could be one of my most important #selfies ever... changing into my gown before my #annual #mammogram."
She continues, "Did you know #October is #breastcancerawarenessmonth? #mammogramssavelives And hey they give you a pretty pink robe to wear while you do it!! Turns out I did have #mondaymotivation today!"
Gareis' brave move brings to mind not just her on-screen sister's current health battle but also her TV mom's health issues. Just as B&B was beginning in the late 1980s, the CBS soap opera told a story about breast cancer centered around Beth Logan (Nancy Burnett), who underwent a mastectomy after her breast cancer diagnosis in 1988.
According to breastcancer.org, about 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. About 41,760 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2019 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1989. Women under 50 have experienced larger decreases. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
Would you like to applaud B&B's Jennifer Gareis for sharing her mammogram experience on social media in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month? Do you feel like moves such as hers and B&B's current kidney disease storyline make a difference? Why or why not? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
