In case you haven’t yet noticed that the world seems to be turning pink, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. If you look closely, you will see that little pink ribbon symbol on everything from sneakers to hats to kitchen accessories to M&M’s. While pink might not be your color, the cause it symbolizes is one that every woman (and man!) should embrace.
It is estimated that this year over 212,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will occur among women in the United States, and that over 40,000 women will die from this disease. Oh, and guys, you aren’t immune either, though your odds are slightly better. 1,720 men will get breast cancer this year, and an estimated 460 will die.
So why all the statistics (haha, the first time I typed that, I typed ‘statitstics’ – kind of appropriate for the subject, I suppose!), you ask? Well, it seems that this Saturday I will be participating in the 2006 Komen Maryland Race for the Cure to help raise money for breast cancer research. It is a 3.1 mile race taking place at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. Don’t get too excited, for me there won’t really be too much ‘racing’ involved – I’m not out to win the thing, I’ll just be happy to finish it. It was my sister’s idea to participate, and my 14-year-old – having no concept just how far 3.1 miles is – decided that we should do it as well. Ah well, it’s for a good cause. That, and afterwards, I was promised lunch at the Cheesecake Factory! YUM!
So anyway, to anyone who reads this – if you have nipples, you could one day develop breast cancer (I was going to say if you have breasts, but then men would think they could exclude themselves), so do your part to help find a cure! Every little bit helps, so please donate today!