October Means Pumpkins… and Breast Cancer Awareness!
It’s that time of year again! Time to pumpkin-spike your favorite hot beverage, decorate hearth and home with fall colors, and put pumpkins to use greeting costumed kiddos from your front porch. It’s also Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Everybody knows 1) nobody likes to think about illness or reading depressing facts; and 2) ignoring unpleasant things doesn’t make them go away. So what can we do?
Some innovative folks have found creative and even fun ways to put serious facts about breast cancer in front of the general public. We’ll talk about those in a moment. But first…
Just the Facts, Ma’am (and Sir)
According to statistics cited in an article on breast.cancer.org, breast cancer comprises 32 percent of new cancer diagnoses among women and it remains the most common cancer for women worldwide.
Around 84 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer are age 50 or older.
Less than one percent of all breast cancers occur in men—but it does occur.
Based on the most recent statistics available (which are from 2023):
Some 322,000 women will have received a diagnosis of invasive breast cancer by the end of 2026.
Another 61,000 will be diagnosed with noninvasive ductal carcinoma in situ.
About 42,000 women will have died of breast cancer by year-end.
But there is good news: About 66 percent of breast cancer diagnoses happen before cancer has spread outside the breast—when treatment is more effective.
Breast cancer is dreaded and can be deadly serious. But it can be treated successfully when it is discovered early.
HOPE Family Health offers screening mammography at its Westmoreland facility, located at 1124 New Highway 52 East in Westmoreland, next to Sonic. HOPE accepts insured, uninsured, and underinsured; no one is turned away due to inability to pay. Qualifying patients may be eligible for free mammography services and assistance with the cost of and any necessary follow-up. HOPE also takes referrals for mammography from outside providers! To make an appointment, call 615-644-2000 today.
Making Health Education Fun
That’s why it’s so important to find new ways to start serious conversations, share information that can save lives, and even raise funds. These ideas from survivingbreastcancer.org and totalwellness.com are a good place to start.
1. The Pink Hair Challenge. Challenge folks to temporarily dye their hair pink (in whatever style or design they prefer), take their picture, and post it on social media. This can also be a fundraiser, charging people to participate and providing social media templates that help encourage donations.
2. The Pink Cake Decorating Contest. Same premise, except with cakes.
3. The Guys-In-Pink Carwash. Ask the men in your life to conduct this traditional fundraising activity by wearing pink while they wash the cars. Tutus optional.
4. The Pink Fashion Show. Host a fashion show where all the runway models wear pink—not just clothing but accessories like feather boas, hats, and jewelry. The emcee can include a breast cancer fact about each model as they strut their stuff up and down the runway.
5. It’s the Pink Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! This event—putting autumn’s most popular gourd to good use beyond lighting up your home’s entryway—is one HOPE staff held in 2024 to great success. Patients on-site and on social media loved voting for their favorites!
Sometimes the best way to approach a serious subject is with a light touch. We hope this article has given you some ideas for the rest of October, for next month and next year, and many Octobers to come.
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