Fall is usually associated with cooler weather, football and the leaves changing from greens to reds and yellows. Bright colors are not typically related with this season, but October brings in a splash of pink everywhere you go.
Ever since 1985, the American Cancer Society has deemed Oct. as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and people have taken it by storm. Breast Cancer is diagnosed in nearly 232,000 women each year and is approximated to take nearly 40,000 lives in 2013, according to the American Cancer Society. This disease has caught everyone’s attention and promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month has become an annual tradition for businesses and individuals across the world. People do this by incorporating pink into their everyday routine during Oct.
Cabrini has taken initiative with spreading the word about breast cancer with several clubs promoting pink. The Relay for Life committee hosts the Relay for Life in April, which raises money for all different types of Cancer. Just because they still have six months until the big event does not mean they cannot start promoting it now. Cabrini hosts their annual Boo-bie Dance in Grace Hall on Saturday, October 26 and it is one of the most talked about dances of the year. Students come dressed in their best costumes and dance the night away to prepare for the Halloween. The fee to enter Grace is $3 and the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.
If you just cannot wait to start dancing that day, members of the Cabrini community are invited to club P.in.K’s event in the Dixon Center to burn away some calories. They are hosting Zumba for Breast Cancer in the aerobics room also on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and there is no fee to enter.
Busy on Oct. 26 and cannot make the dance or Zumba? Do not worry because you can still support Relay and the American Cancer Society! Members of the Relay for Life Committee will be selling t-shirts to benefit the cause in the cafeteria starting on Wednesday at lunch until dinner on Friday, Oct. 25. This year’s shirts, that were student designed, will be $10.
Since breast cancer is such an important topic in the United States, promotion for the month goes beyond the everyday television commercials and t-shirts. Major landmarks, such as the White House, the Eifel Tower, the Empire State Building and many more have illuminated themselves with pink lights in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
And for all of you sports fans out there, be sure to tune in to NFL (National Football League) football each week in Oct. to see what your favorite team has done to support breast cancer. The pink begins when cameras shoot an overview of the venue and viewers can see that a breast cancer ribbon has been painted onto the field with the NFL logo pinned to the center. As the players run onto the field, fans will notice that their gloves and cleats host pink highlights on them and their jerseys have that same breast cancer ribbon with the NFL logo on it.
The National Football League also hosts “A Crucial Catch” campaign each year where they honor those who have been a victim of breast cancer. A part of the campaign that fans can be a part of is purchasing pink products from the NFL store. Jerseys are now pink, hats have the ribbon on them, and there are a ton of accessories with touches of pink that are available. Proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society and the NFL also encourages fans to text NFLPINK to 41518 to donate $10 to them as well.
I personally do not know anyone who has suffered through this disease, but I am completely a supporter of all the things that the American Cancer Society, Relay for Life and all of the other organizations do to promote breast cancer awareness. It is crucial to get the word out about how serious cancer is. The fact that officials as high as the White House are recognizing its importance by turning the establishment pink is phenomenal. I think it is great that Cabrini and the NFL promote it as well because it gets the message out to a broader audience and people will become more aware.
Hopefully we will be able to put cancer to an end one day, but until then we will just have to keep fighting for the cure.
