October: The Month of Awareness
During the month of October, hundreds of organizations across the country celebrate breast cancer awareness month. This is a month dedicated to raising awareness about breast cancer, but it's also a month of fundraising. These funds are used for breast cancer education and research. They are also used to support free screenings, free mammograms, and current breast cancer patients.
One month out of the year may not seem like a lot, but since designating October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the breast cancer fatality rate has gone down significantly. This is due to increased awareness, which causes earlier detection in the cancer. It’s also due to the fact that 6 billion dollars is raised each year for the cause. This money goes towards research, which furthers our understanding of the disease and creates better treatment plans.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is so important because of how fatal and widespread the disease is. Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. In fact, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. This cancer claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year. In the United States, breast cancer claims 41,760 lives annually. It’s a deadly cancer that affects everyone. Even if you have not had breast cancer, it is very likely that you know someone that has.
People across the country raise money and awareness through all sorts of ways. These include pink out games, bake sales, garage sales,penny drives, and pink parties. They also raise awareness by posting flyers or posting on social media about how to do self-checks or how to get free screenings/mammograms. The fundraisers are important, but the awareness brought to breast cancer during October is the most important thing.
There are thousands of organizations that raise money and awareness during October. Some of the most popular are The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Living Beyond Breast Cancer, National Breast Cancer Foundation, and METAvivor. These are all national non-profit organizations. The only money raised in these organizations that doesn't go directly to research, is the money used for fundraisers and awareness projects.
Missouri S&T has an organization on campus as well. The female fraternity, Zeta Tau Alpha, hosts pink week each year in honor of breast cancer awareness. This year, they have a whole week of fundraisers and awareness projects. These include a bake sale, crown prince, lend a hand, think pink drink pink, a pink out volleyball game, think pink think puppies, and queso for a cure. They will also be decorating the campus for the week.
Another organization in Rolla that supports the cause is Your Community Health Center. They are apart of The Missouri Show Me Healthy Women Program. They do free screenings for Missouri Women who meet their requirements. These requirements are you are 35 or older, no insurance to cover the program, and an income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
