Pink October is not just a color .. it is a symbol of hope, strength and resilience that every woman facing breast cancer needs.. it is the voice of awareness that says.. “Early detection” is the key to protecting your life and the life of your family from breast cancer.
On October 29, 2024, as part of the Pink October campaign, the African Organization for Rights and Development, the Nubian Center for Peace and Democracy, the Nubatia Organization for Sustainable Development, and the Dar Organization for Women and Children’s Rights Development collaborated to hold and organize breast cancer awareness campaign activities at the AFORD, Kampala.
The event included several programs, including an open day for early screening, targeting the Sudanese women’s community in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in addition to a coffee session in which women discussed the importance of early detection, the effects of breast cancer, the importance of self-care for women, and the steps of home self-examination.
The day concluded with an open seminar that addressed the psychological effects and barriers before and after breast cancer screening.
This event was an important step towards raising awareness of breast cancer, emphasizing the importance of early detection, and promoting self-care among women in the community.
Historical background of breast cancer:
In recent decades, the world has made great efforts to raise awareness of breast cancer, specifically in October of each year, which is the official month for identifying and raising awareness of breast cancer, which annually affects more than 10% of women around the world, and is symbolized by a pink ribbon.
The world is making great efforts to combat this disease, due to its widespread impact and high rates of infection and death among women. Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer worldwide,
October was adopted as Breast Cancer Awareness Month:
October of each year was adopted to raise awareness of the disease, starting with methods of early recognition and the signs and symptoms associated with it, and the National Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign in the United States of America first began in October of 1985.
The campaign was a partnership between the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical division of the Imperial Chemical Industry to promote mammography, as the most effective tool to combat breast cancer.
The breast cancer awareness initiative was launched and lasted for a whole week in October, with the participation and assistance of Betty Ford, the wife of former US President Gerald Ford, who is a breast cancer survivor and was able to draw increased attention to the disease.
The pink ribbon becomes a global symbol of the disease:
In the early 1990s, an American woman named Charlotte Haley, who came from a family that had suffered greatly from breast cancer, began making handmade ribbons in a peach-pink color that tended to be orange-pink.
From this step, the symbolism of the pink ribbon spread, and newspapers, magazines, and major media companies asked Ms. Charlotte Haley for permission to display her ribbon and message, but she refused, fearing that the awareness campaign would be transformed into a commercial campaign.
Self magazine insisted on circulating the campaign and launching its annual issue under the umbrella of breast cancer awareness and targeting women among its followers, so it decided to change the color of the ribbon in solidarity with breast cancer so that it could use the symbol freely.
From here, the pink ribbon was born in the form we know today, which is considered a symbol of hope, strength, and support for women facing breast cancer.
Since 1992, thousands of campaigns have been launched to raise awareness of breast cancer and educate people about prevention and early detection methods.
This awareness has reached different countries around the world. Today, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and medical associations are working to raise awareness of breast cancer. It has become one of the influential issues that require the world to work more to combat it and raise awareness of its symptoms and methods of prevention and treatment, which requires allocating budgets in the field of scientific research to reduce infection rates.