Added: 12/16/2005 |
Pink Breast Cancer Ribbons, A Little Trinket Goes A Long WayBreast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women today. This year alone, over 200,000 new cases are expected in the United States. Fortunately, the last two decades have seen a huge increase in breast cancer awareness, which has in turn increased funding and research. Before the increased research, there were fewer treatments for this devastating disease and survival rates were not as high. With the increased exposure, funding for this all important research has skyrocketed. Amazingly enough, the little pink breast cancer ribbons we see every day have made a huge difference in both public awareness and funding.
Evelyn Lauder, founder of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and Alexandra Penney, former editor of Self Magazine, originally came up with the idea of the breast cancer awareness ribbon in the early 1990s. Lauder, part of the well-known Estee Lauder cosmetics giant, first promoted these breast cancer ribbons by handing them out at Estee Lauder cosmetics counters around the country. Along with these little pink breast cancer ribbons, breast self-exam instruction pamphlets were distributed. The combination of the two items not only helped raise awareness, but also helped women understand they were the first line of defense in detecting cancer.
It is estimated that in the 10 years following the start of the breast cancer awareness campaign, over 45 million breast cancer ribbons have been distributed worldwide. Today, many breast cancer awareness organizations sell pink breast cancer ribbons and related products to aid in fundraising efforts. Beyond the traditional pink breast cancer ribbons, you find everything from jewelry to t-shirts to coffee mugs emblazoned with the breast cancer awareness ribbon. Not only do these products increase the visibility and awareness of breast cancer, most places that sell these products also contribute a portion of the proceeds to a breast cancer foundation.
In addition to the pink ribbon products, other products such as the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's One In Seven line are entering the market to raise funds. The One in Seven product line is based on the statistic that one in seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. For these products, which include t-shirts and caps, 50% of the proceeds go toward the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation fund for research.
While the pink ribbon campaign started out small, it has clearly made huge strides in raising both awareness and funding for breast cancer research. Of course, with any fundraising effort, you have to be careful of people whose intentions are not the best. There are some websites and retail stores that sell pink ribbon products, but make no mention of donating profits to breast cancer research. If they don't mention the specific foundation they contribute to, you can't really be sure where your money is going. So if you're serious about contributing to the cause, be sure to buy from a reputable organization that tells you where they will donate the profits from the sales of these products.
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