Last week a couple of items inspired me to write what you are about to read.

October has been designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Pink and Pink Ribbons have been a symbol of this movement.

But there are too many shady characters out there riding the coattails of this movement for their own gain without any real benefit to the true organizations that are working to eliminate cancer as a deadly disease.

Please,

Please,

Please, don’t be fooled by a pink ribbon into thinking that you are supporting a cause, because this is not always the case.

Take a look at this site: http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org for a better understanding.

We need to be #PinkWithAPurpose.

Now, let’s look at a few facts about cancer.

Some is preventable, some is not.

Our diet, our habits, our environment can all contribute to the growth of cancer cells in our bodies.

But even the healthiest can develop cancer due to genetics.

Nearly everyone over the age of 30, make that 20 years old has been touched by some form of cancer:

  • You know of someone in your family who had cancer.
  • You personally have had cancer.
  • You know of someone not related to you who has had cancer.

I had only one grandparent alive when I was born and when I was in my 20’s she died from breast cancer.

My father died from liver cancer with less than 6 months notice.

We have a friend who discovered a lump in her breast while she was breast feeding her newborn daughter a few years ago.  She has undergone treatment and her life has been spared for now.

I have a co-worker who had breast cancer.  Monday she gave each of us a pink ribbon reminder at the office.

Because cancer touched my Mom’s life with her mom’s death and my dad’s death, she left funds in her will for the local cancer organization.

The very best way to support the movement is to inform yourself, change habits, and give real dollars to the organizations that are truly working on our behalf.  Not the profiteers who simply slap a pink ribbon on their products.

By the way, if you see me wearing a pink dress shirt, or pink tie this month it is to serve as a reminder and perhaps generate a conversation.

If you are in Northeast Indiana, contact Amber Recker at http://www.cancer-services.org/ for ideas on what you can do and how you can support those with cancer.