ROCHESTER, N.Y. — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a quarter million women are diagnosed with the disease. One organization is using its journey and survivors to help others one pal at a time.

Education, support and advocacy is its mission.

“I have been enriched by the friendships I made here," associate program director at Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester Pat Battaglia said. "And it’s given me a purpose to help as many people as I can here.”

The Breast Cancer Coalition has cultivated a community to help those who have been affected by breast cancer.

“These are survivors through the years, every year we do six portraits," Battaglia said. “All ages, all stages, just representative of the real impact breast cancer and gynecological cancer have.”

It is offering diverse needs and support groups to it survivors, like the Peer Advocates Lending Support group, also known as PALS.

“[They] gave me the tools to process the medical information that I was receiving from survivors and connect with people who were living through these experiences," Battaglia said.

Survivors shared their journey to those new to the disease, providing a sense of guidance and a pal in need.

“I’m sitting here, I’m pregnant with my second child, just diagnosed," PALS program member Colleen Molina said. "I am the only person this has happened to."

Members reassure one another there's support for everyone.

"And they said nope we’ll hook you up with a PAL who was diagnosed during pregnancy, her second child and I was able to talk to her and realize I am not the only person going through this," Molina said.

The group reminds those who are survivors, battling the disease or those who are unsure to still educate themselves.

"Education is a superpower," Molina said. "There’s not a place online, which is what we are all used to doing to figure out the answer, you have to talk to other people.”

Speaking to medical professionals in facilities like Highland Breast Imaging Center. They have dedicated themselves to raising awareness about early detection and treatment.

“There is compression, and it is uncomfortable," the director of Highland Breast Imaging Center Dr. Avice O'Connell said. "But we like to let them know they can control how much compression they get.”

Members encourage both men and women to detect the signs and symptoms.

"If there is three years we can roll through the three," O'Connell said. "So we go one by one, very high-resolution monitor and then we do this tomosynthesis. That’s the right side, and then we do the same with the left side. So basically that’s how we read a mammogram, compare with the previous and look for any changes.”

From screenings and diagnosis to treatment and support, advocates hope those can be aware for others around them.

"If it’s not you, it’s your friend, it's your aunt, it’s your brother," Molina said.