The Pink Month

When I see pink products for sale during the month of October, I wonder how much of the money really goes to researching a cure for breast cancer.  Probably not very much.

I know I'm not alone in this thought because I've heard and read similar comments from others discussing the reason why these products are being sold.  Buy them because you like them or need them.  But I think most people now see those oh so pretty pink-ribboned products as a merchandising trick better left alone.

If anything good has come out of the marketing of these pink products, it is perhaps that they have brought a new awareness to mammograms and the idea that early detection can be a life saver.

We know that breast cancer is a disease that happens twelve months a year, not just in October.

 

Whether a mother or a daughter, grandparent, sibling, or friend, chances are that you know someone affected by breast cancer.

 

I started getting mammograms when I was 35 years old because tragically I had an aunt who lost her life to breast cancer, a cousin who also died from it, another cousin who was diagnosed and treated and is in remission and a sister who thankfully is now in remission because she went in for her annual exam and the doctors found and diagnosed her breast cancer while it was in an early stage.  I also have a very good friend who is currently fighting the good fight and is truly a warrior in keeping herself healthy and positive in her thoughts.

 

Eloise Caggiano
Courtesy of parents.com

Perhaps instead of buying something for sale that is pink and supposedly sold to contribute money to cancer research, why not instead help someone you know who has breast cancer.

 

I saw this terrific post by Eloise Caggiano, the program director for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, on a blog at www.parents.com and thought it had some great ideas.  Caggiano is an eight-year breast cancer survivor so her advice comes from a place of experience.  Please read her list of eight ways to help a friend with breast cancer in the link below:

http://www.parents.com/blogs/parents-perspective/2013/10/17/health/8-ways-to-help-a-friend-with-breast-cancer/?socsrc=pmmtw