Anyone touched by cancer knows the heartbreak of the disease. And given that a woman’s chance of experiencing breast cancer increases with age and is approximately one in eight by the time she reaches 80, we must remain ever vigilant in the fight.

Wouldn’t it be great if every time we got in our cars, we were reminded that we took a stand and made a difference? And greater still, that while driving we were encouraging others to make a difference as well?

This vision can become a reality for a mere $20. That is the cost of the Maine Breast Cancer Specialty License Plate, which has been introduced in the legislature by state Rep. Meredith Strang Burgess.

The money raised by the plates will be split equally among the Maine Breast Cancer Coalition for its Support Service Fund, the Maine Cancer Foundation for its Women’s Cancer Research Fund, and the Maine Breast and Cervical Health Program for its mammogram fund.

The American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Maine Affiliate are in full support of this beautifully crafted specialty plate, which displays our state covered with a pink ribbon and the message: “Early detection saves lives.”

And early detection can be key.

“Breast self-exams combined with mammograms and annual clinical breast exams by a health care professional increase the chances of detecting cancer early,” said Robin Long, assistant director of Caring Connections. “And early detection is the best way to increase survival rates. There are more options for treatment with early diagnosis.”

Breast cancer is not just a lump issue, but can involve discharge, dimpling, cracking or scaling around the nipple. There are many different kinds of breast cancer and it is vitally important to know your own breasts and inform your doctor of any changes, she added.

The time to act is now if you’d like to pay tribute to all the people you know who have been challenged by breast cancer. A minimum of 2,000 plates must be reserved – and paid for – by Dec. 31 to bring this dream to fruition. About half are reserved at this point in time.

“Women tell me that either they haven’t heard about the license plate – so we are trying to spread the word, or more often they say that they have the form but just haven’t sent it in yet,” said Joanne Jordan of the Maine Cancer Foundation. “We are hoping that anyone who wants a plate will take a few minutes and send in their form and check. This will not only guarantee that their plate will be reserved, but that the whole project will actually make it thought the Legislature. If we get the 2,000 reservations, our goal is to unveil the plate in October 2008, which happens to be National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.”

To get your reservation form, call me at Eastern Agency on Aging, and I will personally send you one. For $20, your car can be a vehicle of hope and support for the thousands who have lived or died with breast cancer.

For information on the plate, call the Maine Cancer Foundation toll-free at 866-627-2411.

For local breast cancer support, call Caring Connections, housed at the Bangor Y, Second Street location, at 941-2808.

I have reserved my plate in honor of the dozens – yes, dozens – of women I know or have known, personally and professionally, who have waged the war against breast cancer. I encourage you to do so as well. You’ll never get more mileage out of $20.

Carol Higgins is director of communications at Eastern Agency on Aging. E-mail Carol Higgins at chiggins@eaaa.org. For information on EAA, call 941-2865, toll-free 800-432-7812, e-mail info@eaaa.org or visit www.eaaa.org. TTY 992-0135.