Why Pink is Important

Last night I attended a Twitter party where a lot of women were complaining about Pink October.  Their point was that Pink has become so powerful that it takes focus off other cancers that need attention as well. They also objected to using Pink to market everything from yogurt to cereal. Is everyone really trying to increase awareness or are they just trying to sell their product?

I understand where these women are coming from. I have wondered the same thing.

My mom died of colon cancer so why don’t I blog about that all month? There’s a little boy in our community who is only 13 and fighting a childhood cancer so vicious it breaks my heart to see his mom’s Facebook posts. My father died of heart disease and there is a strong history of it in our family (especially male members) and I have four sons. I do blog about those things and I do want to make a difference for them too, so why don’t I blog about that for a month?

Do I jump on my bandwagon in October just to be a part of Pink October?

I don’t know why a yogurt company or a cereal company sticks a pink ribbon on their product and truthfully, I don’t care. Maybe they’ll sell a few more yogurts and maybe they won’t. It’s not my problem. Thank goodness I am only accountable for me!

The fact is there are many reasons why I choose to blog pink in October and here are a few of them…

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers. About 1 in 8 (12%) women in the US will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime.

The American Cancer Society’s most recent estimates for breast cancer in the United States are for 2012:

• About 226,870 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
• About 63,300 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
• About 39,510 women will die from breast cancer

Another blogger once told me that I take on too many causes. “Honey,” she said, “you can’t solve ALL the world’s problems.”

I know that but that doesn’t stop me from caring and blogging about as many of them as I can!

Maybe, just maybe, by helping draw attention to breast cancer we can educate more women and help them on their journeys, discover treatments that aren’t so painful and sickening themselves, and find more ways to prevent this from happening to our daughters and granddaughters!

So on behalf of Martha (my cousin-sister-friend)

Shannon, Marguerite, Kim, Lynn, Paulette, Alicia, Kathy and all my other sisters who have fought and are fighting this dragon. I vow to blog pink through infinity and beyond!

Please, do me a favor and take the NanaHood Pledge and spread the word! Our Do Something Campaign is on!