Since 1985, October has been designated Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is an entire month dedicated to increasing awareness and educating the public of the causes and treatments of breast cancer. While the organization continues the mission to educate year round, they take one month of the year to pour extra effort into the campaign.
If you pay close attention, you can find pink ribbons throughout the community. My daughters’ soccer team not only has a pink ribbon on their regular uniform, they have also invested in a completely pink uniform to signify the club’s support of education and awareness on breast cancer. If you watch football on Sundays, the NFL has joined the campaigned. You will see different teams with some sort of pink accent, whether it be gloves, shoes, or towels.
Cancer is when cells in the body become abnormal and begin to divide without control or order. Breast cancer is when this process occurs in the breast tissue of both women and men. Cells dividing without order can cause excess tissue which forms a mass called a tumor. While most tumors are not cancerous, many are. The invasion of these malignant tumors can cause additional damage to other tissue and organs.
In 2009, there was an approximate 192,370 cases of breast cancer diagnosed. That number includes 1,910 men. In the same year there were 40,610 deaths including 440 men. There are approximately 2.5 million survivors. It is the second most common type of cancer in women (skin cancer is first) and the second leading cause of cancer related deaths to women (lung cancer is first). With such a wide spread disease, it is difficult to find anyone who has not been effected or experienced breast cancer in some way, either with a relative, spouse or friend.
It would be difficult to measure the total impact of the various campaigns supporting breast cancer awareness, it is true that we have seen a significant decrease is the number of incidents (2% decline) and death (2% decline) in the last ten to fifteen years.
What do you think about having a month dedicated to breast cancer awareness? Are there other diseases which could benefit from starting similar campaigns? If so, what disease and why?
Aaron,I think that it is good having a month dedicated to breast cancer. I also think that we should dedicate a month to autism because it is also important and we should spent time thinking about the people that have it.
ReplyDeleteNatalia- I think it is really good to dedicate a month to breast cancer. We are trying to raise more money for those who have it so they can cure it.I think we should also dedicate a month to Alzheimer. I know of people who have died because of it. We should dedicate a month so we can find a cure by raising the money for it. We could save many peoples lives by dedicating a month for it.
ReplyDeleteSena- I think it is awesome to have breast cancer awareness month. So many people have been diagnosed with cancer, you could at any moment. There are some ways to help prevent it. A lot of people I know and love have been diagnosed with cancer two who lived and two who died. Yes, there are other kinds of cancers that we should all be aware of and many other diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease. There are many people that develop Parkinson’s disease and if we had more aware and do research I think that would help many people. Many people can have Parkinson’s disease, people such as Michael Jay Fox, Muhammad Ali, and my uncle Pat.
ReplyDeleterobert- I think it's great that we dedicate a month to breast cancer awareness. But shouldn't we also focus our attention to other problems such as weight issues that cause the #2 and #3 highest death-rate in females of all races and ages, Heart disease at 22% and stroke at 6%. Breast cancer has a kill percentage of 25 percent so if we effectively lowered obesity in our countries and other countries it would wipe 28% making it lower the death rate of females around the world.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who reads my comments and sometimes laughs or thinks its odd i couldn't make this one like that cause well its death.... cant joke about that unless you are dead XD gotta wait ten years after dying though so it is then officially allowed to be funny so dont joke about it. AM I WIERD? heart time <3 <------see it is a heart and no one believes me! Just believe! cause you can fly off the empire state building. you should try it sometime! Its really fun! XD :D D: D; ;D <----faces! YA!!!!!!!!!
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ReplyDeleteJackie- I think it is really something special that we dedicate an entire month to support and be more aware of breast cancer. I have an aunt who has breast cancer so for me this is a more sensitive topic. She has lost almost all of her and is usual down. I hope that this month will really raise her spirits and help her to stay strong. I think another cause that should be given a month of awareness is over all physical health. I think that if we dedicated a month towards this cause people would feel more inclined to stay active and maybe that could help with everyone being more fit. I hope everyone is truly aware of the death and pain of having cancer in general and I hope everyone will start to think more about it. So I hope my aunt gets better soon and that she stays strong. Go Breast Cancer awareness month!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJackie- By the way with the physical fitness aware month that I thought would be great, the disease I was referring to was obesity. So again Go Breast Cancer awareness month!!!! <3
ReplyDeleteJacob- I think it is awesome that there is a month dedicated to breast cancer awareness. It tells people that this is a big problem and it needs to be recognized. I do think that other diseases can benefit from this. For one, Lou Gehrig disease. It is an illness that has no cure. Money could go into finding a cure for it.
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ReplyDeleteI think it is really cool that we have a breast cancer awerness month. When the NFL players wear the pink equipment it makes people want to go out and buy the gear that their favorite player is wearing. So, we can make a lot of money for breast cancer.
I think autism could benefit from an autism awerness month. I think this would be a good cause because autism dosen't have a cure and a lot of kids are diagnosed with it, so we could donate money to find a cure.
Matea- I think that it is really cool that we have a month dedicated to breast cancer. A lot of people want a cure for it. So if more people know about it the better it is for everyone. We should start one for people that have autism and some people with bad tumorers. People in this world have different problems. We can't just let them hanging by themselves in sadness. We have to help them. They can't do much for themselves when they are hurt badly or something like that. So we have to do something about it. Haveing a month of awarreness for it could change so many different people lives. Less diseases could make a better world and a lot of happy people.
ReplyDeleteTaylor-I think its great having a month dedicated to breast cancer. It can tell you what some people are going through. It is also a good way to raise money to find a cure or to give it to someone who can't afford the treatments. I think that multiple sclerosis could benefit with more research money and awareness. Many people die from it and it would be really cool if there was a month dedicated to multiple sclerosis. I kind of think that every month of the year should be dedicated to some kind of disease. That way more diseases could get money to find cures.
ReplyDeleteKordell-K-dog-I think that it is really cool that we have a month dedicated to breast cancer Awareness. I think that it is really cool that all the sport teams for football, basketball, and baseball. If you pay close attention that on cars, and team jerseys. I think that we should start a campaim for autism and some that have really bad tumors. I think if we start theses campains it will help every body in the world because alot of people have autism and bad tumors.
ReplyDeleteAmaia-I think it's really awesome that we care enough about the health of others to make them aware of things that could kill them. Plus the fact that we take not just a day, but a whole month to make people aware is amazing. Well I think that they should have a general cancer aweness month. I think that would be more beneficial to making people aware.
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ReplyDeleteEmma-I think breast cancer awareness month (October) is a great idea. It reminds people to take care of themselves and prevent cancer by getting mamagrams and yearly check ups. It honors people that have died of breast cancer, supports those that have it currently, and celebrates those that have survived it. I think that it would be a great idea for other cancers to have an awareness month as well. In particular, skin cancer would be a great one since it is the leading cause of cancer in women and men. Preventing it by staying out of the sun, wearing hats, and applying sunscreen are easy tasks to prevent it and would be fun to remind people in a specific month dedicated to skin cancer.
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOSH! I think it's AWESOME that we have a breast cancer awareness month! It helps remind people with breast cancer that we really care about them and are trying to help. I have never experienced having a member of my family die of breast cancer and I hope I don't have to, because it sounds so sad and painful not being able to help them fight. But that's why breast cancer awareness month is so great, you can help anyone who has it fight back. I think it would be great to have another program to support autistic children, because it is a growing disability and many kids face it today. And we should let them know that they aren't facing it alone.
ReplyDeleteVinnytestiverde-i think having a month for breast cancer is great. i hope that it would make the people that have breast cancer feel like that they are being supported by basicly the whole world. a disease that would benefit from a campain is gillian barre. my mom had it and it is a disease that has no cure. but luckily she is better. i think that it is cool that the NFL players wear the pink for brest cancer awarness.
ReplyDeleteDan A.K.A (tyreke jerome kobe jr III)- i think having a month dedicated to breast cancer awareness is great. It makes the people that have cancer feel good about themselves and make them feel belonging. I think we should dedicate a day to every cancer. we should dedicate this by wearing something just like the NFL teams do in the month of October for breast cancer.
ReplyDeleteStephanie- I think it's really cool that October is a month for breast cancer awarness. It's good that we dedicate a month to breast cancer because people will think about it mOre and be more aware of it. I like to see that even football players respect and honor breast cancer awareness with their helmets and towels. If there was another cancer recognize I would do Autism. It is a serious condition that people often dont pay attention to. It would be really cool to see the rest of the world recognize these cancers.
ReplyDeleteBelle - I think it's great to support this horrible and scary desiese ......everyone know about this deaise and everyone is terrified of getting it .It's a desise that is uncureable and to think of being sick and never getting better is not a great thought . People are working to figure cancers out but its taken a long time and still isn't perfected . It's great that football players and other role models support breast cancer (and other cancers) because it show the kids that look up to them, that its an important matter and that people care. Families that have a person with cancer know that it's hard,...... money ,hope, and other normal things are tight but these people have a lot of faith and trust that things will turn out okay, Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't but people with cancer still do great things, the woman who delivered my brothers ,sister, and I, had breast cancer and lived a great life she was a very happy person. Autism is another deseise that is hard to understand and should be recognized
ReplyDeleteDillon Hall Singletary Teo IV-- I think having a month dedicated to breast cancer awareness is awesome. My family has a long history of cancer, so this research could save my mom or sister's life. I think Alzhimers Disease is another one that would be great to have a month dedicated to it, because so many old people have it. It is very hard on families.
ReplyDeletepeter- i think its great having a month dovoted to breast cancer.I also think that lung cancer should have a month of awerness.My friends mom had brest cancer witch spreded to her lung she ended up dieing shortly after.I also always see the ribbon and football players wereing pink to show that they care about the causes of breast cancer.I know that breast cancer strts in the breast.That is what i think about breast cancer month and awerness.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is so cool that we have a breast cancer awareness month. This should go on forever and ever.I think that all of the life changing diseases should at least have a day for it. Because they all matter. I have people in my family that suffer from breast cancer and other diseases and it is sad. Niko
ReplyDeleteNissa- I think it's great that we have all these big fundraisers, races, etc. for breast cancer. However, breast cancer, and other major cancer forms are seen a lot, but there aren't exactly that many stroke,heart attack, or Alzhimer's publicity things. I mean, they don't have an entire month dedicated to them, but they're still deadly and important for people to know about. These um.... diseases? are very sad, especially with older relatives. I have a great-aunt who was like a 3rd grandma to me who died of cancer. I know how much it hurts, and I also wish there was a month, moment, day, week, SOME period of time where those people can be remembered.
ReplyDeleteKatie H.-I think its great to have a month for breast cancer awareness. I have seen many of the fund raisers and races and i think its a great way to raise awareness. i think we should have a week for to raise awareness of some other serious dieseases like lucimia.
ReplyDeleteGabi- i love the idea of having a month dedicated to breast cancer.It houldnt be a sad month as much as it should be a happy month. this month helps us focus on the fight against breast cancer or any cancer at all. cancer sometimes cant be stopped. some, like breast cancer are mainly genitic so usually there is no stopping it. its is so sad and scary to loose someone from cancer. its hard and sad for the family or friends. any type of cancer can benifit from campaignes. we should support and help those with cancer in anyway that we can and breast cancer awarness month is just one of the ways.
ReplyDeleteCatie-i think that the idea of having a month dedicated to breast cancer is brilliant. The people who suffer from it deserve to be recognized. In addition to being aware of breast cancer, i think that we should also be aware of leukemia. Its no walk in the park like all the other cancers. This one particular cancer i find truly heartbreaking and cruel.
ReplyDeleteRyan- . Cancer is a big thing there are different kinds but the the one that is most common is breast cancer. So it makes sense to have it be such a big deal and to have its own month. I think that we should be aware of over serious deceases, and maybe contribute money.
ReplyDeletecody i think that it is very cool that they have a month dedicated to this to get peoples attention about cancer and try to help solve the problem.I think that we should have a month dedicated to helping the poor so that families would not have to go to bed hungery
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