Recognizing Breast Cancer Awareness Month

People tend to think the month of October only represents Halloween, pumpkins, and fall, but it is much more than that. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which began in 1985 through a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries. The initial campaign was originally intended to be a week-long initiative to promote awareness and mammography, but fortunately it expanded to a full month. Breast cancer awareness is not just about recognizing the name of the disease - it is about saving women's lives, reducing suffering, and giving them better chances of recovery.

In the U.S., about one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, as it is one of the most common types of cancer among women. The American Cancer Society is a nationwide health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. Its mission statement is to "improve the lives of people with cancer and their families, through advocacy, research and patient support, to ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer." By visiting their website, you can donate to their society, become a monthly donor and make a continuous impact, and most importantly, you can also join their cancer research training as a high school student. Even just taking a look at their website and exploring their work provides information on this topic and may inspire people to consider donating to cancer research by supporting patients.

Another very important fundraising is the Unite for HER, which stands for Helping to Empower and Restore. This registered nonprofit organization was founded in 2009 by Sue Weldon, a woman who also suffered from this disease. It focuses on integrative therapies and support services for people diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer. This organization differs from others due to how it addresses gaps that many medical treatments leave unfilled, such as reducing burden and stress, empowerment, and emotional support. Another way to get yourself involved in this topic is to participate in our UHS sport teams' pink out games.

In these events, teachers, students, and peers are encouraged to wear pink - the color represents breast cancer awareness to honor those who struggled with this disease. There are many other events in Pennsylvania that promote breast cancer awareness. Some examples include the Western Pennsylvania #LightupMBC Color Walk, the PA Breast Cancer Coalition Conference, and Annual Breast Cancer Walk.

Ultimately, the numerous organizations and fundraisers created to support this specific topic show how important it is to promote awareness for breast cancer, and most importantly, to make such a harmful and miserable disease turn into empowerment and emotional support.