Should You Wear a Pink Ribbon For Breast Cancer Awareness?

Have you ever wondered why so many products are emblazoned with pink ribbons every time the month of October comes around? In case you did not know, pink is the color associated with breast cancer and many countries have breast cancer awareness days in October. In the United States, the entire month is denoted as breast cancer awareness month.

People are urged to buy products that are specially made for this occasion, either pink in color or just with a pink ribbon affixed to them for two main reasons. One is that people will get intrigued by the color and therefore show some interest in this subject. The other reason is so that a portion of the proceeds goes towards breast cancer programs. Many offices also organize pink parties where employees dress up in this color and make contributions towards a particular cause that focuses on breast cancer. Women are encouraged to go for health checkups and screenings for cancer such as mammograms.

While this is no doubt a noble cause, there is a lot of skepticism about the role that corporate play in this new phenomenon. People are very suspicious about their intentions and this is borne out by the spike in sales during the month of October. Many people buy these pink products out of genuine concern for breast cancer patients but many more people do it because they feel pressurized into doing it. After all, nobody wants to be perceived as the only person who did not care enough about breast cancer sufferers and survivors to buy a single product.

Skeptics point out that these corporates hand over only a small fraction of their earnings to breast cancer charities. In other words they cynically make use of this occasion to drive sales. People have also noticed that some companies spend more money on promoting the event rather than actually donating money to help find a cure for it. You will be shocked to know that many cosmetics companies that are associated with this program use ingredients like parabens in their products which are known to have a link to cancer. Many of these companies are industrial giants and are also huge polluters of the environment.

One also wonders why breast cancer gets so much attention from these companies when 10 times as many women in the United States die from heart related ailments. When it comes to cancer, there are other cancers that deserve more attention because they kill more women than breast cancer does.

All the same, one can still do ones bit to help the fight against breast cancer. Wear the pink ribbon by all means, even if you do not buy some product that you don’t really need. Make a donation to a charity related to this cause and do your best to spread the word about this disease. After all, getting breast cancer is an immense tragedy and everything you can do to help will be greatly appreciated by patients and survivors.