THINK PINK! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Unless a person is living under a rock, they cannot help but be made “aware” of breast cancer during the month of October.
Turn on the television and every Major League Baseball team is using pink bats, NFL players are adorned in pink gloves, towels, tights, and socks.
Attended a high school football game lately? The cheerleaders have big pink bows, pink bloomers and poms, while high school football players sport pink socks. Volleyball teams have followed the trend as well.
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) began in 1985 as a partnership between the American Caner Society and Imperial Chemical Industries, maker of several anti-breast cancer drugs. The aim of NBCAM was to promote mammography as the most effective weapon against breast cancer.
As for the pink ribbon, which is now a national symbol for breast cancer awareness, the Susan G. Komen Foundation handed out pink ribbons to participants in its New York City race for breast cancer survivors starting in 1991.
Then in 1993, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation was founded and officially established the pink ribbon as its symbol. The color pink, for literally everything in October, ensued from that.
So now that everyone is aware of NBCAM, how many people actually take action? How many people actually schedule a mammogram? I say people because men, although much less common, can also develop breast cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, the good news is that the number of women over 40 who have a mammogram has increased drastically since 1987.
In 1987, 29% of females over 40 had a mammogram and in 2013 this number increased to 66% - this of course equates to early detection, early treatment, and saving lives. According to the American Cancer Society, deaths from breast cancer are down 35% from 1989 to 2011.
We can conlcude that all this "pink" is working.
Seems like a no brainer. If having a mammogram could possible save your life, who in their right mind wouldn't get one? The American Cancer Society reports that 62% of uninsured women are not getting mammograms along with 47% of women with less that 12 years of education. Ethnicity is not a factor in whether or not women get a mammogram according to the American Cancer Society.
Still, there is no excuse. According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, low-cost or free mammograms are offered through national programs and community organizations throughout the country including:
Komen Affiliates fund breast cancer education, screening and treatment projects for those who need it most. Find an affiliate in your area to learn what resources are available. Or, call their breast care helpline at 1-877 GO KOMEN (1-877-465-6636) to help find low-cost options in your area.
National Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Center provides access to breast cancer screening to low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women.
YWCA provides breast cancer education and screening to women who lack access to health services.
Each October, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, many imaging centers offer mammograms at reduced rates. For a list of certified centers, visit the FDA website at www.fda.gov.
So if you are wearing pink…stop and think…have you had your annual mammogram?