This year marks the 25th anniversary of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
October is dedicated to awareness, empowerment and education of men and women about the disease.
“The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) organization is a partnership of national public service organizations, professional medical associations, and government agencies working together to promote breast cancer awareness, share information on the disease, and provide greater access to screening services,” according to http://www.nbcam.org.
The National Breast Cancer Foundation sets up several promotions and events to keep inspiration during this world-wide fight.
They even provide free mammograms for those who can not afford it.
Businesses around the country are also participating in the fostering of hope.
Panera Bread’s entire bakery will be “pinked-out” and professional sports teams will be sporting pink apparel as well as the pink ribbon.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).
Currently, there are 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States.
Facebook users are also taking part in the struggle by enticing the uninformed.
If you have been on Facebook lately you may have noticed a few of your female friends with intriguing statuses that start with the phrase, “I like it” and ending with a peculiar location; for example, “I like it in the closet.” Most people would get the notion that this an expression of sexual desire, but don’t get too excited, they are actually just talking about their purses.
“I do it because although I don’t know anyone who has been seriously ill with breast cancer personally, there are families out there that have had breast cancer destroy generations of their loved ones,” said senior Jackie Curry. “I support the cause for everyone that has lost someone to the disease.”
Last year several girls were naming a color for their status to indicate what color bra they were wearing that day.
This spread around quickly and more people became involved with the cause.
“I saw my aunt’s status was a color, and then a few of my friends, so I became curious and Googled it,” said Curry. “I think it’s designed to keep the uninformed population intrigued. It’s the sexiness of the statement that sells.”
As Curry explained, this is exactly what the campaign was designed to do.
People like to feel like they are in the loop, so they will see the trend and Google it, wanting to know more.
This year the objective is to announce where you like to put your purse.
So when a girl says, “I like it on the kitchen floor,” they are really just admitting they are lazy and didn’t put their purse away.
“I don’t get it. At least last year the bra was associated with breast cancer,” said sophomore Robert Hubbard.
Sophomore Caitlyn Corrao disagrees.
“I think it is a good idea. It gets people thinking about it,” said Corrao.
“If it were just a boring ‘I support breast cancer research’ statement, less people would be likely to re-post it” said Curry.
Any support for breast cancer this month helps the victims and their families to cope with this disease.
Find out more on how you can help at http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org.
Kristi Marsili can be reached at kmarsili@spartans.ut.edu.