Pro football shows its support for breast cancer research. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
As the orange and black Halloween season gets underway, don’t forget to think pink this October. This month marks the 25th anniversary of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and people around the country are participating in events to honor and support breast cancer survivors, patients and research. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer affects one in eight women in the United States. Although the breast cancer death rate has been on a 2 percent annual decline in recent years, more than 192,000 new cases will be diagnosed in 2009.
To show your support for breast cancer research and the millions of people affected by it, you can toss on a pink shirt and cut a check to one of the many breast cancer non-profits and foundations, such as Susan G. Komen and the National Breast Cancer Foundation. National Breast Cancer Awareness Month also has a list of events going on across the nation to educate the public and raise money for the cause.
In addition to standard monetary donations, there are a lot of other ways to do your part for breast cancer this October. First, women should educate themselves about breast self-exams. In between to routine mammograms, self-exams are one of the best ways that women can catch breast cancer in its early phases. Men and women can also donate their hair to be woven into wigs for cancer patients going through chemotherapy. Locks of Love, for instance, accepts clean pony tails or braids at least 10 inches long for children’s wigs. You can also help fund breast cancer research in the grocery store by picking up specially marked products like Yoplait yogurt that will donate 10 cents to the Komen Foundation for every pink lid people mail in.
And if you haven’t done so already, get in touch with the breast cancer survivors in your life. Breast cancer is a mentally, emotionally and physically draining experience, and we should support the women (and men) diagnosed with it this October — and year-round.
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Breast Cancer In-Depth
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