What do you want people to know about Breast Cancer Awareness Month?
As we enter October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, you'll hear a lot of words used to talk about breast cancer and people who have it. Some of these words might make you feel strong and supported, while others might make you feel worried or left out.
Words like "fight" and "battle" can inspire some people — they can make you feel like you have the power to face the disease and take control. But for others, these words don’t match how they feel and can make them tired or scared.
If you have or are recovering from breast cancer, or if you're supporting someone who has it, what do you want people to know about Breast Cancer Awareness Month? Share with us below to help get your message to those who need to hear it.
And, take our new poll: How does Breast Cancer Awareness Month make you feel?
Comments
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While I truly appreciate the fact that “Breast Cancer Awareness “ has brought attention and research dollars to the disease, I am less than thrilled with a few other aspects of the pinkification of bc.
- Due to the ubiquitous presence of bc “awareness “ and it’s emphasis on early detection and tx, many people believe bc is easily cured and no one dies from it. Some even think bc is no big deal and completely curable. Rarely is the unpleasant recurrence rate mentioned even for those who successfully completed early stage tx.
- This leads me to stage IV which is still killing thousands a year in the US alone, yet “awareness “ month dedicates only one day to it. Since this is the only stage of bc that is terminal, it would be nice if this received more acknowledgment .
- Pink… I actually like some shades of the color but it’s use for bc month and its pink feather boas, fluffy pink bras, etc. almost feel childlike and purposely silly because breasts,boobies, tits, tatas, are something we know people will giggle about. Save the tatas? No, just no. Do we decorate jock straps with blue frippery to raise awareness for prostate cancer?
Again, I truly appreciate what all this pinking of bc has done in terms of raising funds and all the resultant treatments that have come to fruition over the past 13 years but it’s glossing over the reality of bc, especially for our stage IV friends. And on a personal note, pugilistic terms such as warrior, fighter, battle, etc, do absolutely nothing for me.
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Very well said for many of us. I get offended every year when someone I worked with has a need to send me something pink. I know she lost her own mother to BC and when I was diagnosed think it hit her a lot I guess and I am trying to be compassionate but I kind of wish she would just stop. I have to try to remember her motives for doing this and never wear it.
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exbrnxgrl-
Beautifully said.
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"What do you want people to know about Breast Cancer Awareness Month?"
It is not so much what I want people to know about Breast Cancer Awareness Month itself but what I want people to know about screening. Seems like everyone I know claims they have been told they have very dense breast tissue. I also have very dense tissue. The 3D mammogram barely picked up the cancer in September of 2023. I truly believe it was there in September 2022, based on the size of the tumors. The ultrasound was what showed I clearly had an issue.
Ultrasounds should be more of the norm. If you have been told you have dense tissue, INSIST on the ultrasound. I was fortunate that, while the tumors were larger in size and cancer was found in 2 of 6 lymph nodes removed, I was still considered stage 1. I had a double mastectomy and radiation, no chemo. We will never know what would have been needed had the tumors been more clear in the 3D mammogram in 2022.
Be proactive. It may save your life.
Denise D
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Focus on listening to individual stories and offering personalized support, rather than just using generic phrases or assumptions.
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This is all wonderful insight so far! Please, everyone, keep sharing! Thank you for participating❤️
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Having a dbl mastectomy means i will never have a mammogram again. I had never had one till i was 60 and found my lump myself. I had two more after till all was removed. I have an US in March. This is at the hospital i had my surgery at. I am though, moving to the hospital my medical oncologist went to and my breast surgeon. With the BRCA2 mutation, I want to be at hospitals that will contact me if any research or info arrives that could ensure my mutations do no more harm. At City of Hope, I will be a patient for life. This tues i have my 2-week visit and a CT scan on my chest. See of the newer two small images remain, stayed the same or changed in my lungs. I was looking at scans i have had that spoke of an expander visible and a part tip in my vein. Fear brings worry. So many with breast cancer live long lives. It is not a death sentence. I do hope all the paths breast cancer took me down, remain a path i will keep walking to live healthy.
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"What do you want people to know about Breast Cancer Awareness Month?"
I agree with so much that has been said already.
The ‘month’ is a reminder to me that I was fortunate to have caught (felt) my tumor early. Because I felt the tumor, a ultrasound was also done after the useless mammogram saw nothing (even with the sticker on the tumor). I had c/d level breast density at the time.
I think at the minimum a screening ultrasound should be required for every patient with dense breast tissue. We depend on radiologists to catch our ‘snowflake’ in a snowstorm on a 3D mammogram, because ultrasound or MRI are not the ‘gold standard’ for screening for breast cancer. Women should not have to beg their Primary Docs for additional screening post mammo when they get ‘the letter’ that states ‘you have dense breast tissue and may want to talk to your doctor about having other screening’. What a joke!! How many women read that letter and think….’wow! I better get another screening!’ ?? And what if the woman doesn’t speak English? Who advocates for them?The notification system post ‘gold standard’ mammo is still very imperfect and needs help! It’s great they now send letters notifying women of breast density. But it’s still not enough.
I’m grateful to be post br cancer 7 yrs. I try to educate those women in my life about dense breast tissue and the importance of scans. My church partners with a local health systems mobile mammo van. I coordinate a mobile mammo clinic for my church community three times a year. Every woman who arrives at clinic I make sure they are aware of breast density and what having it means.4 -
We have a Junior Women’s Club in my community. They have a breast cancer run to raise funds. Part of it involves selling pink ribbons to local businesses to put on their store fronts. I emailed them with all the statistics on MBC and asked them to please consider using the MBC ribbon along with the traditional pink ribbon. The response I received was quite frustrating - they wouldn’t add the ribbon as they only fund raise and do not purport to educate. How very sad.
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I never understood the commercialization of a deadly disease but at times the pink stuff puts a smile on my face. For those supporting or caring for anyone with bc but they don’t have bc or any cancer, I believe it’s important to observe more than voicing opinions to the patient. Unless they have the disease bc or other cancer, it’s not an easy dx tx to endure. It’s there and I’m confident with my oncology team (my nurse was a triple negative and looks great) yet I’m aware of the depth of seriousness bc carries. I’m sad a famous celebrity succumbed to bc after being in remission for 20 years yet every body is unique in function and reaction to tx. I’m very aware of death either sooner or later. It’s a vulnerable topic for me. I only feel somewhat comfortable participating in bc forums like this one I recently joined. Thx for reading.
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I think that’s what galls me (and I hope I would feel this way even if I didn’t have MBC). The ONLY stage of bc that is terminal seems to be the one we don’t want to acknowledge! Are we the failures? Wasn’t awareness enough (ha!)? Wait! Let’s barely acknowledge them and pretend they barely exist. Then we can sell more pink crap and make everyone feel like bc is not a big deal but remember… let’s not give those stage IV members too much exposure because their reality doesn’t mesh with fluffy pink frivolity. Besides, they must have done something wrong because, you know, bc is so easily dealt with (not!) so it’s best to give them as little light as possible. After all, they’re dying anyway, right?
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This is from a CNN newsfeed piece. While it highlighted the fact that overall deaths had decreased, the number is still staggering. Hard to believe that so many think bc is highly curable and hardly anyone dies. 42, 000 is a substantial number. Awareness simply glosses over this (pink) elephant in the room.
“They project that this year, nearly 311,000 cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among US women, affecting about 1 in 8, and more than 42,000 women will die from breast cancer.”
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Hi all. It's been a while.
I wish people understood that "awareness" is great, but it needs to be backed up by $$$. Wearing pink randomly doesn't help. Participation in fundraising, should one choose to, could. This is true of all "causes".
My building is having an "event dedicated to creating awareness and supporting breast cancer research."
The announcement then goes on to say:
"(-—) Fit for Breast Cancer will feature a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session that is designed to challenge you, improve your cardio, and strengthen your entire body. Whether you're a beginner or a fitness enthusiast, this workout is perfect for all fitness levels and aims to leave you feeling empowered and motivated.
Please show your support by wearing Breast Cancer Pink!"
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No sponsorships to raise money, no mention of screenings… they are using the idea of pink to advertise a fitness club. That's just not cool. It makes me livid.
I like many of the posts above! Some of us are de Novo- we did our screenings, we take care of ourselves. And Genetics are not fully understood. I am negative for all known mutations. And yet my athletic littlest sister was just diagnosed after her first mammogram (no staging yet) in her early 40s. Somewhere between our ages, the health care recommendations changed from mammograms starting at age 40, then to 50, then back to 40. That goodness for her it went back to 40!!! As she wryly laughed, she always gets cancer at a mammogram.
I had no interest in breast cancer (or any disease not affecting an immediate family member) before diagnosis other than getting my regular mammograms (always w a callback for ultrasound because of dense tissue, good post on that above). I don't expect anyone without personal interest to learn about a random disease. However, the month needs to continue SCREAMING about getting screened, help give access to screenings, to clarify age and risk recommendations, and to make insurance cover the use of modern technologies.
A huge pink sign saying "get your mammo/ultra sound here" without a 6 month wait, or $120 copay would be a great use of the color.
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Mostly I ignore the pink washing during October and it doesn’t bother me. However, like dancemom my gym is holding a ‘wear pink’ while you work out the week of October 5. No fundraising just to ‘support our community”. I’ll be wearing my usual gray and black. The whole thing just seems odd and more of a marketing tool.
I completed chemo for ovarian cancer 3 weeks ago so I am bald, although I wear a cap or turban. I will feel awkward going to the gym next week as I feel I’ll stand out with my bald head. Just seems like a poorly thought out marketing campaign.2 -
The message for those that don’t have breast cancer is to get your yearly mammogram. I was lucky that my DCIS was found very early on my mammogram in January. I just completed my first week of radiation treatment and I have been wearing a breast cancer awareness shirt 👚 to every appointment. Had I skipped my mammogram for the second year in a row my diagnosis could have been much worse.
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Thank you for continuing to share ❤️
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