National Breast Cancer Awareness

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). Here is a history of the development of NBCAM.

Beginning October 1, it will be impossible not to notice the color pink popping up everywhere. From golf balls to shoelaces, everyday items will be bathed in shades from neon pink to baby blush. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), an annual health campaign to increase awareness of the disease and raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. 1 in 8 U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, and breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women. Local and national events include walks, races, fundraisers, fashion shows, and lectures held throughout October. In Houston, the 2018 Komen Race for the Cure® will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2022, at Sam Houston Park.

The fact that breast cancer is now an open discussion is the result of decades of activism beginning in the 1970s, in part of the women’s liberation movement. Before this, breast cancer was a private condition for women, with shame rather than social support. Even the word “breast” was too scandalous for polite conversation. Because of the courage of women who spoke out about breast cancer, and the feminists who confronted the male-dominated medical establishment, the issue finally became part of the national discussion and lost its stigma. Today, breast cancer is no longer taboo; women, men, athletes, politicians, and children all proudly display pink ribbons to show solidarity with a loved one, or to signal their battle.

The History of the Pink Ribbon

1979

After the wife of a hostage taken in Iran began tying yellow ribbons around trees in her yard, the nation began to embrace the symbolic message of ribbons.

1980

AIDS activists created the iconic red ribbon which was worn by actor Jeremy Irons at the Tony Awards. Overnight, every charity, organization, and cause wanted a ribbon.

1990

Charlotte Haley, who battled breast cancer and also watched her daughter, sister, and grandmother stricken by the disease, introduced a peach-colored breast cancer awareness ribbon. She made them by hand in her home and distributed thousands of ribbons at supermarkets with cards that read: “The National Cancer Institute annual budget is $1.8 billion, only 5 percent goes for cancer prevention. Help us wake up our legislators and America by wearing this ribbon.”

1991

The Susan G. Komen Foundation, which had previously passed out pink visors, distributed pink ribbons at its New York City race for breast cancer survivors.

1992

Alexandra Penney, the editor-in-chief of Self magazine, was working on an issue for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to give national exposure to the ribbon campaign. Haley refused, saying that the magazine’s motivation was too commercial. Unable to use Haley’s peach ribbon for legal reasons, Self magazine opted for pink.

1993

Evelyn Lauder, Vice President of the Estee Lauder companies and breast cancer survivor founded the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and uses the pink ribbon as its symbol. Estee Lauder places the ribbon on its merchandise on department store makeup counters all over the country.

Soon Charlotte Haley’s peach ribbon was history, and her original idea became the iconic pink ribbon that is now the worldwide symbol for breast cancer.

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