National Breast Cancer Awareness

In many countries, including the US, the month of October is considered to be the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The event is a joint effort to raise awareness and reduce the stigma associated with breast cancer, using education on symptoms and treatment. The idea behind the project is that extended knowledge on the subject will lead to earlier detections of breast cancer, which, eventually result in higher long-term survival rates. The awareness campaign also targets finding solutions for funding research that will produce a reliable, permanent cure for this medical condition.

The international symbol for breast cancer awareness is the well known pink ribbon. Those who were it, both women and men, identify themselves with the goals of the campaign and publicly display their support. The choice of color can be explain by the fact that pink is generally considered to be a feminine color, able to evoke traditional traits of the gender like beauty, delicacy, tenderness, care. The symbol comes in high contrast with the debilitating effects that breast cancer can produce. The extended use of the pink ribbon and its popularity has made it also a symbol of care towards women. This universality allows companies involved in the awareness campaign to use the opportunity and also promote core values of gender equality between men and women at all levels throughout the society.

Every year, thousands of products and services have their brands associated with pink ribbons or simply the color pink, and sold with the promise that a small percent of the total cost will be donated to support breast cancer awareness and research. There are some issues regarding abusive use of the symbol strictly for marketing purposes, largely due to the fact that the pink ribbon is not licensed by any corporation. Beside this inconvenient, the pink ribbon has prove to be the most popular and easy to recognize awareness symbol.

Typical events held during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month include foot races, walk-a-thons, and bicycle rides, where donations to a breast cancer-related charity are demanded in return for participation. The principle behind these events is that by bringing many people together, they become one voice, able to transmit a more coherent and strong message. Full scale mass-media coverage of these events helps this voice reach out to those who chose to be unconcerned about matters not affecting them directly. The events usually involve physical activities and competitions, suggesting the importance of caring for your health.

Currently, screening mammography is promoted as the sole possible approach to public health for breast cancer. Some supporters of the awareness campaign are choosing a different road to walk, claiming that attention should be directed towards finding non-genetic causes for breast cancer, like pollution of the environment. They accuse large corporation of getting involved in financing the battle against breast cancer, but not taking any active measures to reduced pollution.

Nevertheless, proving that substances are responsible for breast cancer would ultimately involve human testing, a highly unethical procedure. The mainstream breast cancer culture is being criticized for focusing on detecting and curing existing breast cancer cases, rather than on preventing future cases from occurring.

Australian singer Kylie Minogue

Many celebrities who faced the ordeal of a fight against breast cancer choose to make their stories public, in order to encourage screenings and awareness among other women. Kylie Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 36, on 17 May 2005. As the first medical examination did not reveal cancer, it was her instinct that led to a second, decisive round of analysis. A partial mastectomy was made, after which Kylie was subject to chemotherapy and radiation. Doctors now like to call “Kylie effect” the numerous young women who decided to have regular checks soon after the singer’s battle with cancer was made public.

Country singer Sheryl Crow

The famous country singer Sheryl Crow had experienced a somehow similar fight with breast cancer. Her condition was revealed after her yearly screening mammogram, without any previous symptom. Sheryl underwent minimal invasive surgery (lumpectomy) and radiation after which she adopted a healthy diet and lifestyle. An interesting fact about Sheryl Crow is that she began raising money and awareness for cancer even before she received the shocking news.