October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month – Staying Abreast Is Important

Did you know why a pink ribbon is commonly used to depict breast cancer? Because pink as a colour has mostly been associated with being feminine. There are many stories about why the pink coloured ribbon was chosen. But the goal was all the same- to show everyone that breast cancer was not getting the attention it deserved. A positive diagnosis can drastically change a life and how a person views themselves. This is why it is super important to learn all the early warning signs, how to perform self assessments and get the right treatment at the right time.

Theme For This Year

October 2024 is rightly called Breast Cancer Awareness Month or Pink Ribbon Month for so many reasons. The theme for this year is ‘No One Should Face Breast Cancer Alone’. A very common misconception is that women alone get affected, but no. Men do too, though the numbers are far lesser.

Why Celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month?

More than 28% of Indian women suffer from breast cancer of some form. Most of these women get diagnosed in much later stages. This means delayed diagnoses, delayed treatment and burgeoning costs with every session. Another worrisome trend noticed in India is that breast cancer affects women below 50 years of age. Many women tend to survive treatment but afterwards? The 5-year survival rate figures are pretty dismal.

Why Celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month Matters

There are a few choice reasons as to why taking part in this annual campaign is important:

• It is obviously designed to raise awareness among the populace that cancer detection needs to be done early.
• Women and men- both need to be made aware of the various risk factors involved, that can make them susceptible to cancer.
• Large organisations take part in major fundraising activities after partnering with hospitals and similar patient based groups.
• It also gives people a chance to talk about their experiences with different types of cancers like men having breast cancer, metastatic or inflammatory breast cancer etc.
• This can also be used to teach people that they need to go in for annual screening after the age of 40.

Conclusion

Cancer is a condition that is dependent on a variety of factors and genes do play the most important role, among others. If you have a cancer causing mutation in your familial genes, it makes more sense to be prepared as it is almost always going to strike you- at some point of time now or in the future. But what if there are no issues? Then you should be aware of cancer causing agents or factors- like living a sedentary lifestyle, using birth control, drinking or smoking excessively, exposure to radiation or mutagenic material etc. So, let us stay vigilant, get screened regularly and hope for the best!