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The National Breast Cancer Awareness Movement

Decent Essays

October is a busy month. You have Oktoberfest, Halloween, Columbus Day, and my birthday. But most importantly the whole month is national breast cancer awareness month. There are millions of people across the nation getting involved in this social movement for various reasons. For my friend, Kris, it is something a bit more personal. Breast cancer awareness movement is a tool and outlet to inform and express their emotions. “Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts in the cells of the breast. A malignant tumor is a group of cancer cells that can grow into (invade) surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. The disease occurs almost entirely in women, but men can get it, too.” (Society, 2015) There is a …show more content…

“Charlotte Hayley, who had battled breast cancer, introduced the concept of a peach coloured breast cancer awareness ribbon. She attached them to cards saying, ‘The National Cancer Institute’s annual budget is 1.8 billion US dollars, and only 5 percent goes to cancer prevention. Help us wake up our legislators and America by wearing this ribbon.’” (Ribbon, n.d.) Charlotte Hayley did not start the pink ribbon movement, but was more of a catalyst to the movement. “The peach colored ribbon of Hayley aroused interest from Alexandra Penney, editor in chief of Self magazine, who was working on Self magazine‘s 1992 National Breast Cancer Awareness Month issue.” (Ribbon, n.d.) But Charlotte was not interested in working alongside Self magazine, and wanted to remain a grassroots movement. Due to legal matters Alexandra Penney had to give up on the peach colored ribbon, but still wanted to use the ribbon in promoting breast cancer awareness. So they did the next best thing, go with pink. “The cosmetics industry got on board in 1991 to promote breast cancer awareness with the help of Evelyn Lauder of Estée Lauder Cosmetics and Alexander Penney, the editor-in-chief of Self magazine. When Evelyn Lauder and Alexander Penney were working on their breast cancer awareness promotion, they liked Charlotte Hayley’s concept of giving ribbons to promote the support of breast cancer awareness. Lauder, Penney, and Hayley worked …show more content…

He does his part by utilizing social media to convey his support for the breast cancer awareness movement on his mom’s birthday and also during the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Social media such as Facebook and Instagram has created a platform for him to speak to a lot of people. I asked him has anything come out of using social media to promote breast cancer awareness, good or bad. He said he got a community of friends who share the same thoughts he does on breast cancer awareness. There are a number of family and friends that have lost someone to breast cancer, know of or they themselves battling through it, and one that has survived it. He said he wouldn’t have this group of friends and family if he never spoke up about. And would not have been able to support them through using his experience to help encourage them to keep strong. He encourages people to donate to the cause to help fund the

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