It’s October – you see it everywhere. PINK. Pink Hostess products, pink cleats on the football field, even pink wrapping on your toilet paper. You might think it’s overwhelming or unnecessary but I’m here to prove otherwise.
Now, I know that a lot of what you may see is just a marketing strategy. And yeah, maybe the company is really just looking to get some attention from claiming to be charitable, but at the very simplest of levels – it’s STILL awareness.
Awareness Saves Lives.
Let me tell you a little story – I was at a charity event representing my non-profit Breasties – Painting for the Cure. I spend the majority of my weekends in the Fall at charity events. Breast cancer mostly, but I don’t discriminate. Cancer is cancer so I take part in raising funds for Pancreatic Cancer through the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Childhood cancer through The Kylie Rowand Foundation and so on. I was recognized by a Breasties follower at an American Cancer Association event. The gal was a breast cancer fighter and was recently diagnosed at stage 1 breast cancer in September. She grabbed me as I was jumping into a photo with a friend and said “Are you Breasties?!” I said, “Why yes, I am! But you can call me Elisabeth.” We both laughed and then before I could ask her what her name was she started thanking me for what I do. She told me that she has been following Breasties since 2011 when we launched and she loved the body positive message I was putting out. She then went on to tell me that since reading a blog post I wrote in 2013 about checking yourself once a month for lumps that she had done so. She said every 1st of the month she made sure to check. It was the 1st of September just last month that she discovered a lump. She is scheduled for a lumpectomy on the 20th and they are hopeful they will remove all of the cancer.
Make a Difference.
If that isn’t AWARENESS, I don’t know what is!? You can imagine my emotion when she told me her story and I couldn’t help but be proud of what I have dedicated so much of my heart and soul to over the past 5 years. If I could just help save this one life, it was all worth it.
That’s the beauty of awareness, people can take as much or as little as they want but the best part about it is it’s real, it’s so real and people are making positive life choices because of it. So next time you pick up a roll of cinnamon buns that have a pink ribbon on it, just be grateful for it. It could save a life.
Get Involved.
If you would like to get more involved in the breast cancer community in San Diego, please check out my website Breasties.org or follow me on Facebook. Breasties participates in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure every year as well as the 3-Day Walk! Walk with us, buy a painting, do a print! There are so many ways to get involved and help someone in need.
Below are some resources on breast health and links to my favorite cancer charities in San Diego.
National Breast Cancer Foundation
More about Breasties.
Breasties is an organization that helps raise life saving funds for breast cancer by creating empowering
works of art. For 5 years Breasties has been providing San Diego with a unique way of getting involved in the cancer community. Breasties has helped fund cancer research for Childhood Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer and Breast Cancer charities. Collaborate with Breasties and create a one-0f-a-kind work of art by painting your breasts! Click here for more details on how you can get involved.
Love this article and love you more!! My mom just had her 10 year appointment with her oncologist and is considered a survivor! What that means is she no longer has to see her oncologist but will continue to be proactive with mammograms and self checks. Her cancer was a mass with fingers and wouldn’t have been found without a mammogram.
Oh! This is the kind of news I LIVE for!! So happy to hear it! Love you all! And miss you so much!
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