Breast Cancer Awareness Month, also known in America as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is an international health campaign organised by breast cancer charities to raise awareness and funds for research into the causes, cure and prevention of this disease. According to the American Cancer Society, about 1.3 million women globally will be diagnosed with the disease annually and 465,000 will die from the disease.
The Wear it Pink Initiative
Last year over a million people took part in wear it pink in the UK, raising over £3 million to help fund research and improve survival rates for the one in nine women who experience breast cancer during their lifetime.To take part, people simply have to wear something pink to work or school and donate £2 to help fund breast cancer research. Many schools, office workers and communities have backed the campaign, although its profile does not enjoy the TV Time of a Comic Relief or a Children in Need. Since its inception in 2002, the wear it pink initiative has raised 13.2 million pounds.
Celebrities Back Cancer Research
A number of celebrities have used their position to raise awareness of breast cancer by using the pink image. For instance, the Middlesex cricket team wore pink shirts for the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer while the Australian Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden used pink grips for their bat handles to help bolster the profile of Breast Cancer Australia. Last October, the NFL had spotted pink on the uniforms of its players, and pink on their shoes, gloves, arm bands and hats. NBC also recruited the singer PInk to create a song for Sunday Night Football while Black Eyed Peas leading lady Fergie recorded an in-stadium public service announcement to air during games, reminding fans of the importance of breast cancer screenings.
Elemis Releases Pink Sparkling Beauty Collection
Elemis, the luxury British spa and skin specialist, is donating £10,000 to Breast Cancer Care and to help celebrate its involvement has launched a Sparkling Beauty Collection designed in a stunning fuchsia pink. In the UK alone, 46,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually .Verite Reily Collins, Editor of After Cancer, spoke of her positive experience with some of the products included in the set. "My cancer treatment caused massive problems to my skin from the effects of drugs and radiotherapy,” she said. "I tried Elemis’ Pro-Collagen Lifting Treatment Neck and Bust - and this was fantastic; I could feel my skin soaking it up. Itching disappeared, the nasty peeling skin calmed down."
It should also be noted that breast cancer is an issue for men as well as women. Through the efforts of wear it pink, there has been an increased medium for the c word to gain press in a positive way each year rather than remain a silent affliction for the many who experience breast cancer across the world.
