It’s October again, and Breast Cancer Awareness Month is upon us. All month long, a variety of organizations and companies will show their support by displaying the iconic pink ribbon in their advertising and on a wide range of products. There has been everything from special edition watches and tea kettles, to cookies, curling irons and pens. All of these products have two things in common: They bear the color pink, obviously, and a portion of the proceeds is pledged to go to a well-known breast cancer charity.

How it started
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an annual international health campaign that is organized by major breast cancer charity organizations every October to both increase awareness of the disease and help raise funds. The hope is to save lives through encouraging early detection, educating, and funding research to better determine its cause and hopefully find a cure someday. The concept of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) was founded in 1985 by the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical company previously known as ICI Pharmaceuticals (now AstraZeneca). In October of that year, AstraZeneca began a large scale promotional effort to teach the importance of early breast cancer detection. As part of that campaign, they also named October as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Since that time, October has been embraced by all other breast cancer organizations and people around the world as the focal point each year to promote awareness.

The Major Breast Cancer Charities

• Susan G. Komen for the Cure was started by Nancy G. Brinker, in hopes of finding a cure for the disease her sister Susan G. Komen had suffered from. They are responsible for such events as Race for the Cure and the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk.
• The Breast Cancer Research Foundation was founded by Evelyn H. Lauder in 1993. With their corporate partners, which include Ann Taylor and the Estee Lauder Companies, they have raised over 220 million dollars since inception. Their Facebook page, the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign is doing a tremendous job of spreading the word with over 150,000 people Liking the page.
• National Breast Cancer Coalition is well known to fund education, research, and fund raising efforts to support breast cancer awareness.
• Breast Cancer.org was started in 1999 by Dr. Marisa Weiss, a well-known breast oncologist. Her goal was to help women and their families wade through the massive amounts of information available and help them to make the most informed decisions possible.
• The National Breast Cancer Foundation is dedicated to help save lives through research and early detection. They provide women with access to mammograms for a very low cost, or free in some cases. They were founded in 1991.

During this month, everyone the world over is able to help out by simply buying products from companies that support BCAM. No matter what you buy you’ll be helping those great charities above. Additionally, you’ll do your part to spread awareness and get important conversations started. It all starts with a little pink ribbon.

We have the Brighton Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon Charm. For every one that we sell, $20 goes to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation!