Breast Cancer Awareness Month can mean different things to different people. For some, it’s a trigger — 31 days in the fall of pink-ribbon reminders of a disease that forever changed them. For others, it’s a chance to show their support for the more than 2 million women around the world who are diagnosed with the disease each year. Understanding the goals behind the global campaign and the emotions felt by the many different people living with the disease may help you decide if and how you want to commemorate the month.
What is Breast Cancer Awareness Month?
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an international health campaign that’s held every October. The month aims to promote screening and prevention of the disease, which affects 2.3 million women worldwide. Known best for its pink theme color, the month features a number of campaigns and programs — conducted by groups ranging from breast cancer advocacy organizations to local community organizations to major retailers — aimed at: supporting people diagnosed with breast cancer, including those with metastatic breast cancer educating people about breast cancer risk factors encouraging women to go for regular breast cancer screening starting at age 40 or earlier, depending on personal breast cancer risk fundraising for breast cancer research.
In the month of October, there are also specific dates designed to raise awareness of specific groups within the breast cancer community.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day (October 13)
October 13 is nationally recognized in the U.S. as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. About 168,000 women in the U.S. are estimated to have metastatic breast cancer (cancer that spreads beyond the breast to other parts of the body). Researchers estimate that about 30% of early-stage breast cancers eventually metastasize. The day, which began in 2009, is meant to educate the public about the need for more money to go to the study of metastatic breast cancer and the development of new metastatic cancer treatments.
Men’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week (October 17–23)
Although breast cancer is much more common in women, breast cancer affects men, too. In 2021, President Joe Biden designated October 17 to October 23 Men’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week. According to the American Cancer Society, 2,790 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2024, and about 530 are expected to die from the disease.
The history of Breast Cancer Awareness Month
The event began in 1985 as a week-long awareness campaign by the American Cancer Society, in partnership with Imperial Chemical Industries, a British company that made tamoxifen. The campaign eventually grew into a month-long event.
In 1992, the pink ribbon came into play after Alexandra Penney, SELF magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, partnered with Evelyn Lauder, Estée Lauder’s Senior Corporate Vice President and a breast cancer survivor, to distribute pink ribbons after the magazine’s second annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month issue.
Other variations of the pink ribbon have emerged in recent years to raise awareness that all people with breast cancer are not the same. These include ribbons for raising awareness about metastatic breast cancer, men with breast cancer, inflammatory breast cancer, and more.
Source: Breastcancer.org
