October: International Breast Cancer Awareness Month
That is why the 11th Pink Ribbon is bright pink, with a fluorescent inscription so it can light up. This is also why Pink Ribbon is asking the government that every person with breast cancer and all relatives of that person be given the opportunity to be tested for the high-risk breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. Now too many carriers remain in the dark about this.
"Shine A Light" campaign
Pink Ribbon will draw attention in October to what remains too hidden regarding breast cancer. We are going to shine our light on it and make it more visible.
After all, as a national breast cancer organization, our mission is to shine our spotlight on what is not yet sufficiently known:
- that as many as 1 woman in 8 in our country will be told she has breast cancer in her lifetime;
- that 1 in 3 cancers can be avoided with the help of a healthy lifestyle including sufficient exercise;
- that 1 woman in 4 discovers breast cancer later than necessary because, for example, she only knows 1 of the 9 alarm signals;
- that a lot of women still don't say they have breast cancer because it's such a difficult story to share;
- that it is sometimes even more difficult when the breast cancer has spread because many do not know how to continue living with it and people around them are more likely to look away;
- and that an estimated 33,000 to 55,000 people in Belgium are carriers of the high-risk breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. At least half of them simply do not know this. While these genes increase the risk of breast cancer in women by as much as 60 to 80%.
Pink Ribbon will be featured in its October campaign this year:
- once again shine the spotlight on prevention by, with the organization of the 12th edition of The Pink Walk, advocating for more active lifestyles and exercise;
- further explain the 9 alarm signals so that all 9 can be detected in a timely manner. We do this by promoting the Mammoquiz , our online detection tool to which an 8th language, Standard Arabic, was recently added;
- point out the high genetic risk that tens of thousands in our country are at without knowing it, with a clear policy question to the government.
- pay attention to patients with metastatic breast cancer and organize meeting days specifically for this group on November 15 and 29 in Zaventem.
The 11th Pink Ribbon
So because of this, our theme this year is "Shine A Light," and the 11th Pink Ribbon is bright pink, with fluorescent lettering, so it can light up.
We will be asking everyone in Belgium to proudly wear this Pink Ribbon in October to help shine more light on what - when it comes to breast cancer - too often remains underexposed.
This year the ribbon was created with the support of Mayerline. You can buy the ribbon through our partners: Mayerline, Carrefour, bpost, AVA, CKS, JBC, Medi-Market and Wibra (online or in stores).
Did you see our bracelet? You can also buy it through our partners.
