October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month - How Can You Help the Cause?

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month 

Current estimates are that one of every eight women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer at some point within their lifetimes. The good news in all of this is that more and more of these women are surviving.

This is thanks, in larger part, to the efforts of people, just like you, who work hard to help raise awareness, raise money, and donate time, care, and attention to the cause. You may be wondering what you can do to help the cause during this month when the spotlight is shining brightly on the need for more from everyone when it comes to breast cancer. These are a few great ideas to consider.

Donate Money to Breast Cancer Charities

There are many national charities dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer. They all have an important role to play and get a large portion of donated dollars. Unfortunately, that doesn’t do much to the women (wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, friends, and teachers) who are living with breast cancer today.

During this month when even professional athletes are showing their pink, consider looking for breast cancer societies that celebrate the women who have breast cancer. Breast cancer organizations that laugh with them, cry with them, and give them the support they need to get through the day to day challenges of life with cancer and in treatment.

Talk about Breast Cancer with Your Female Friends

Don’t save it for your friends. Have the uncomfortable conversation with your mother, grandmother, and even your girlfriends when you’re out on the town. All this pink in the air is the perfect reason to bring it up and remind the girls of their need to practice routine inspections and checks to make sure they’re in the clear.

Early detection not only saves lives, but in some instances it can help women avoid the pain and trauma of a mastectomy. Encourage routine checks and set the example by sharing your own experience. Some may feel like this is too much information, but the bottom line is that it saves lives.

Participate in Runs, Walks, and Races for the Cure

Communities large and small offer opportunities to raise funds and awareness with walks and runs. You can choose to participate in memory of someone lost to breast cancer, in celebration of someone who has survived this disease, or in solidarity as a woman today who remains at risk of someday developing this dreaded disease.

Walks and runs are a great way for breast cancer charities like the Breast Cancer Society to raise funds for the activities they do to help women with breast cancer today and tomorrow. It’s an opportunity for you to really give in a way that’s fun and not at all painful. More importantly, you’re standing strong with so many other women, from all walks of life, who all share one goal – stamping out breast cancer once and for all.

No matter how you decide to help the cause, getting out there and participating in the conversation about breast cancer is one of the most important gifts you can give yourself as a woman or as a man who is fortunate enough to love some really special women.