October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of BC Awareness Month, NFL players sport their pink socks and sweatbands. There are also fundraisers such as awareness walks and runs. Having a month dedicated to breast cancer is a great way to get people to be aware and raise money for breast cancer research. Breast cancer should not only be supported during the month of October, but it should be supported all year-round. Many of us have the hearts to help but simply don’t have the time or budget to donate as much as we’d like. Here are some simple yet effective ways to help support Breast Cancer Awareness during October or any month of the year:
1. Start with yourself
Take care of yourself and perform regular breast examinations. About 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. (breastcancer.org) Make sure you know what to look for and educate yourself in breast cancer symptoms, a lump sometimes isn’t just a lump.
2. Encourage friends and family
Don’t forget to tell everyone about how simple and helpful it is to perform a self-examination. Your friends and family, the people you care about, should be taking care of themselves as well. Remind them!
3. Attend a fundraiser
Breast Cancer Awareness is a pretty popular topic. People are always trying to raise money through fundraisers, especially during October. Trade in one Saturday of lying around being lazy and attend a fundraiser for breast cancer. You will be glad you did.
4. Host a fundraiser
Hosting a fundraiser doesn’t have to be as complicated as it sounds. You can host an easy, inexpensive event such as a bake sale or garage sale. Donate the money you made to a Breast Cancer Awareness Organization and be sure to advertise where the money is going while hosting the event.
5. Donate online
Donating online is simple and quick. While we don’t always feel as accomplished because we haven’t done much awareness raising, it’s a good feeling to know your money went towards a great cause. Funds can be donated through plenty of websites, a few being BCRF Cure, Komen, and National Breast Cancer.
6. Wear pink
As simple as it sounds, wearing pink, or more specifically a pink ribbon, is a super effective way to show your support for breast cancer awareness. It shows everyone that you support the awareness of it and it also gets people to think, “hey, maybe I should be raising awareness too.”
7. Donate your long hair for wigs
This is such an effective way to support breast cancer. Why let your hair be swept off the hair salon floor when it could be made into a beautiful wig for a cancer patient? There are many organizations that make wigs for cancer patients, such as Locks for Love. Simply just grow out your hair, and make a cancer patient smile.
8. Share/post on social media
Social media is a great way to raise awareness in this generation. Post and share pictures of events near you. This is an easy and effective way to really get people to think about helping too. Don’t be afraid to be the first one to say it- our boobies matter!
9. Shop!
Yes. Last but not least, an effective and simple way to raise money for breast cancer awareness is by shopping. Plenty of stores offer deals, mostly during October, where a percentage of the money you spend goes to associations that donate money to Breast Cancer Research. Some stores don’t even require you to spend money.
Businesses include:
– Macy’s stores that have a Wacoal fit specialist give complimentary bra fittings. For every woman that receives a bra fitting, Wacoal donates $2 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. An additional $2 for every Wacoal bra purchased is also donated.
– P.F. Changs donates $1 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation for every spicy tuna or California sushi roll purchased. Also, for every selfie you post on social media with a pink P.F. Changs horse using the hashtag #paintpfchangspink, another $1 is donated.
Let October be a reminder of how much you can do to help. These simple ways should encourage you to make a change! Spread the word so we can stop the spread of cancer. It starts with you, so make sure you are keeping yourself healthy, and encouraging others to do the same!