Quick Facts
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1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime
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Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide
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Breast cancer does occur in men, but women are at 200X the risk of developing the disease
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The American Cancer Society estimates about 2.8 million women with a history of breast cancer live in the U.S.
Origins
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month was founded in 1985 as a partnership between the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries (a maker of several anti-breast cancer drugs). Breast Cancer Awareness Month is intended to raise awareness about breast cancer so that women may take steps to detect the disease in its early stages and encourage others to do the same.
The Pink Ribbon
The Susan G. Komen Foundation handed out pink ribbons in the fall of 1991 to participants in its New York City race for breast cancer survivors. The ribbon was inspired by the red ribbon of AIDS awareness.
In 1993, the editor-in-chief of Self magazine, Alexandra Penney, and Evelyn Lauder, breast cancer survivor and Senior Corporate Vice President of the Estée Lauder Companies, founded the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. They established the pink ribbon as the symbol of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. On the strength of the Estée Lauder brand, the pink ribbon’s status as the symbol of support for breast cancer awareness was sealed.
Get Involved
References:http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-factshttp://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-awareness-monthhttp://www.carecyclesolutions.net/partners-press/history-breast-cancer-awareness-monthhttp://www.pinkribbonlabels.com/images/pinkribbon.jpg