Fall is almost here, and everywhere you look, you see red, orange, brown, gray, black and pink. Or at least you should see pink.
Why pink?
Because pink is the color for breast cancer awareness and October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Believe it or not, some people don’t know this.
And those people must obviously be living under a rock.
Breast cancer awareness is more than wearing a pink bracelet or shirt. It’s to give support to those diagnosed with the disease and the survivors, and to remember those who have died from breast cancer. It is also to help researchers ensure that one day there will be a cure.
It is to remind us ladies to get annual mammograms, as well as to do self-checks at home. I’m only 21, but I have been getting a breast exam at my annual check-ups since I was about 16. And don’t think women are the only ones who get breast cancer. Men can also be hit with the deadly disease as well. It would be a pretty interesting conversation for a man to have with his doctor about receiving a mammogram.
Wearing pink isn’t the way to bring about a change, either. Not one of those various shades of tickle-me-pink in your closet is going to help bring a cure. It shows that you are aware. But it is going to take more than that.
Janelle Hail founded the National Breast Cancer Foundation in 1991. According to NBCF, Hail was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1984 and had a mastectomy to get rid of the tumors in her breasts. She survived and founded the NBCF in order to help others in her shoes. The mission of NBCF is to help save the lives of women and men through early detection of the disease, and to help those who can’t afford mammograms to receive them for free.
So, how are we to keep Hail’s mission alive if all we do is wear a pink shirt we bought from the Gap thinking that’s all we have to do?
We get involved that’s how.
Join your community breast cancer walks. Or start your own donation bucket to send money to various breast cancer awareness charities and programs. And yes, you can even buy pink articles of clothing, pens, cups and jewelry from said charities to aid in the awareness.
And get your annual breast exam as soon as possible if you already haven’t. We have to do our part in protecting and saving “the tatas.”