Men Can Get In On The Awareness Too

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, and October is set aside for an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease. It does affect women, but guys can also be affected. As men, we can help with awareness, and do our part to assist where possible. Here are some ways us guys can get involved with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Wear pink! Ladies have said for years that men can wear pink! Not only is it a good color for us guys, but this is the first way we can show support for those fighting this horrible disease. A simple ribbon on a jacket, or wearing anything with pink says and means a lot.

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Tough Enough To Wear Pink

Volunteer! There are many regional and international volunteer organizations that promote breast cancer awareness. The American Cancer Society (ACS), a national nonprofit health organization dedicated to curing cancer, welcomes many volunteers. The American Cancer Society was founded in 1913 and offers a variety of volunteer opportunities, including Relay For Life, Road to Recovery, and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Locally, you can step up and help with Bras For A Cause. To date, this ambitious group has raised, and given more the a million dollars to locals battling cancer. Bottom line fellas, get involved!

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Breast Cancer Volunteer Group

Offer your help. You can support a friend or loved one who has been diagnosed with breast cancer in a variety of ways. To simply help, you can plan meal deliveries, transportation, and other tasks. Through the use of an online social network and planner, you can assist in uniting a patient's family, friends, and workplace. Keeping everyone informed about one's condition is simple with CaringBridge. This website can be used to leave notes of support and positive thoughts from friends and family.

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Cancer and disease treatment

Know & share facts and statistics. The National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. and American Cancer Society both offer outstanding resources to learn more about breast cancer. Here are some facts and stats from those organizations:

- Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer for women.

- Every 2 minutes, a female is diagnosed with breast cancer.

- Every 13 minutes, one woman will die of breast cancer.

- Today, there are more than 3.3 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.

- Breast cancer does not just happen to women. 1 in 1,000 men will receive a breast cancer diagnosis.

- About 2710 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in men.

- About 530 men will die from breast cancer per year.

- Drinking alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer.

- Only 5-10% of people diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of the disease.

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Race for the cure

Participate in a run or a walk. The Susan G. Komen for the Cure is the largest and most successful breast cancer fundraising and education organization in the world. The organization runs the Komen Race for the Cure, a series of 5K runs and walks around the country. The organization also has the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, a 60-mile, 3-day event. Proceeds from these events fund breast cancer research. Click here to find a Komen Race for the Cure near you. Make a donation, participate, or even talking about this is a great way to spread awareness!

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Surviving breast cancer

Collect scarves and hats. Do you have an office full of givers? Take up a collection of brand-new scarves and hats to deliver to a local chemo center. Since many cancer patients lose their hair during treatment, a bright scarf or hat will make her day. Better yet, if any of your office staff enjoys knitting or crocheting, ask them if they’d be willing to make some hats. If this is a large task to take on, make a donation if someone else is doing this. You never know who will need a simple scarf or hat to make things a little better while the fight continues.

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Donate

Create your own fundraiser. This is the best way to shine...because you are creating it! Hold a car wash. Encourage and help your kids with a lemonade stand or a bake sale. Organize a yard sale or another DIY event with the proceeds going to a breast cancer charity. This is a fantastic way to raise funds, create awareness and support a good cause.

Remember guys, cancer affects everyone. Let's flood the rest of October with pink, awareness, and help as needed. We are all in this fight together!

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