Ideas for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The American Cancer Society, along with AstraZeneca (manufacturer of many anti-breast cancer drugs) established October as the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the year 1985. With a Silver Jubilee already to its credit, breast cancer awareness month is one that has been successful in making people aware about breast cancer; what are the possible predispositions that increase the risk of developing breast cancer, the symptoms of breast cancer, how you can detect breast cancer at home, what are the remedies and treatments available for women already suffering from breast cancer, prognosis of the disease, and related lifestyle changes you can adopt. There are several ways in which you can increase awareness about breast cancer among people around you. Find out how, as you read on.

Spread The Message

Breast cancer awareness month is the right time to create awareness about the disease. Many medical institutions, hospitals, clinics, and non-profit organizations come up with different kinds of programs and movements that help people know more about such issues as breast cancer. Here are a few ideas you can implement this year for the breast cancer awareness month.

Free Health Check-up
For their own justified reasons or fears, women may shy away from getting themselves checked. Offering a free check-up can be a good idea to get these women to shed their awkwardness and come forth for a check-up. You may even try to get a celebrity to participate in a similar event. A celebrity getting herself examined might give other women courage to get themselves examined as well. Alternatively, you can hand out discount coupons for health check-ups. Discount coupons can be given for other women-related products too. You can hand out the breast cancer pink ribbon to all the women who turn up for the check-up and urge them to wear it at least for a day. This will ensure the awareness message is spread far and wide.

Campaign Week
One disappointing fact about the Internet is that sometimes the information you get there is incomplete, misleading or point-blank wrong. Holding a campaign week in your city will be a great way to clear all the doubts that people have. You can ask people to send in their queries to an e-mail ID, and these doubts can be answered through lectures. You can invite experts in your city to have an interactive seminar with people. You can use the event to sell breast cancer awareness merchandise such as breast cancer awareness rubber bracelets, or t-shirts, or even hand bags. The money so raised, can be donated to a research center or a breast cancer clinic or hospital.

Local Media
Using the local newspaper or radio broadcast station to reach out to the masses has been a successful strategy implemented by many institutions to create awareness about an issue. You can tie-up with a local print or broadcast media to similarly create awareness about breast cancer. You can publish a series of articles in the newspaper. You can invite gynecologists and oncologists to write these articles. These articles should aim at giving people information regarding the causes, symptoms and treatment of breast cancer. They should also serve the purpose to eradicate wrong beliefs or myths about the disease. Apart from this, you can also give readers a health tip everyday that will help them steer clear from factors that contribute to the risk of breast cancer.

Fundraiser Programs
Organizing a march or walk can also be an effective way to create awareness among people. The Race for the Cure (initiated in October 1983) is held annually in almost 100 different cities in the United states alone, and is also organized in countries like New Zealand, Germany, etc. You can motivate people to participate in such programs by advertising it on the local radio and in the newspaper. You can hold a competition as well; a marathon would be a great idea. A slightly different competition would be one to design a breast cancer awareness related logo or symbol. This logo or symbol can go onto t-shirts which people participating in the march can wear. You can even get a famous artist or designer to design a symbol specially for your event.

Pink Day
Many corporate organizations also do their bit in creating awareness about breast cancer by celebrating one of the days in October as 'Pink Day'. Employees are urged to incorporate the color pink in their attire. Men can wear pink shirts or ties. Women can opt for pink blouses teamed with cream-colored skirts or trousers. A pink handbag or scarf can also do the trick. Another idea could be to include a pink theme for the company website. Finally, the company can have all the female employees get a health check-up sponsored by the company. Even at the personal level, you and your friends can all celebrate a pink day. You can organize a private lecture for the benefit of your friends and neighbors.

The Facebook Chain Status

A couple of years ago, girls and women all over the world had different colors as their status messages on various networking websites and online messengers, including Facebook - red, beige, white, black, purple etc. Men all over the world were perplexed - so were these the new favorite colors of their girlfriends, sisters or wives? Soon, however, the cat was out of the bag, and the mystery of the chain status messages was revealed. Women had put up the color of their bras as a Facebook status for breast cancer awareness month! At first glance, that looks like a stupid idea. But it worked. It got noticed. It got people intrigued. It got everyone all over the world reading up about breast cancer. Even though many people ridiculed it, the movement served its purpose - it did create awareness about breast cancer. However, the idea lost its novelty and died out, so that the tradition was not followed the following year. But you can change that and start the trend all over again.

There is a lot each one of us can do to create awareness about breast cancer and other such medical issues. We must believe in the power we have - to make a difference, to change the world. If we believe, we can; together we can, and we should!