The month of October excites most people because Halloween is soon approaching and fall is officially beginning. Also, October is widely known and supported as National Breast Cancer Awareness month.
You would literally have to be living under a rock to not see an athlete, celebrity or regular citizen donning a shade of the color pink in honor to raise awareness.
In 1985, national breast cancer awareness month was founded as a partnership. The partnership was formed between the American Cancer Society and the Pharmaceutical Division of Imperial Chemical Industries.
The main objective at the start was to promote mammography as the most potent weapon against breast cancer. 29 years later, this is an annual campaign that people all over recognize and help bring awareness to.
The notable color pink in October is instantly known as awareness of breast cancer. You may wonder how did this color get chosen and why?
Well, a part of the reason why is because it is a great marketing tool.
Back in 1991 the Susan G. Komen Foundation handed out pink ribbons to its participants in a race for breast cancer survivors.
It was derived from the popular red ribbon of aids awareness. Two years later in 1993 the Breast Cancer Research Foundation was established and then appointed the pink ribbon as its symbol.
Ever since then the symbol has been cemented as showing support for breast cancer awareness.
The color pink in western countries is considered feminine, but because of this the ribbon has flourished as a proxy of goodwill towards women as a whole.
This means that, by simply wearing a pink ribbon, it shows that a person cares about women in general.
When you see NFL players wearing pink every Sunday, the George Washington Bridge in New York glowing in pink, or the fountain at Love Park in Philly spraying out pink water, these are all different ways of recognizing a disease that is the second leading cause of death in women.
As a female I obviously think and agree that it deserves all the publicity and funding that it gets. All of us women need to be aware.
It does make me wonder, though, what is it about breast cancer that causes so much attention and awareness, as opposed to other diseases that do not receive the same amount?
Lung cancer is one of the most deadly diseases in the world.
Until I researched it, I did not know that November is lung cancer awareness month. Yet, when I think of October breast cancer awareness quickly comes to mind.
I am sure I am not the only one who did not realize that but why do we not recognize other diseases with the same regard as we recognize breast cancer?
I think that as a society we all get caught up in one aspect of something and totally fail to realize that their are about many other illnesses that need and deserve that same attention as well.
Realistically, not every single disease in the world is going to get the same ample amount of awareness that breast cancer does.
I get that. Still, I think it is our duty as people to try and bring attention to as many diseases as we possibly can.
