October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness of this complex and deadly disease. Each year, individuals, businesses, and communities in Houston and around the world show their support for people affected by breast cancer.
Quick facts about breast cancer
- About one in eight U.S. women and one in 726 U.S. men will develop breast cancer throughout their lives.
- In 2024, an estimated 310,720 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the U.S. An estimated 56,500 people will be diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a non-invasive breast cancer.
- An estimated 42,250 women will lose their lives to stage IV or metastatic breast cancer in 2024.
- In 2024, over 4 million women were living with a history of breast cancer in the US.
- About 9% of all new breast cancer cases are diagnosed in women 45 and under.
- Though Black women have a lower incidence of breast cancer than white women, Black women are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer.
- These numbers remind us there is still urgent work to do — more than we can accomplish in just one month.
Make a Pink Breast Cancer Ribbon Lapel Pin
The pink ribbon lapel pin has become a powerful symbol to increase awareness about breast cancer, and it’s easy to make for yourself and your friends.
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October and throughout the year—people wear pink ribbons to honor survivors, remember those lost to the disease, and to support the progress we are making together to defeat breast cancer.
We encourage you to wear a pink ribbon throughout the month of October and join us in the fight against breast cancer.
Follow the printable directions below to make your own pink ribbon lapel pin; no sewing required.
Finished size: 1½” by 5/8″.
You will need:
- Three inches of pink ribbon, a quarter-inch wide.
- One small safety pin
- Needle and small length of pink thread (optional)
Options to attach to a lapel: - The small safety pin used above
- Double stick tape
Directions:
- Cut a three-inch length of ribbon, snipping both ends at an angle. Lay the ribbon out horizontally with the shorter edge on top. Hold down the ribbon’s midpoint. Grasp the left end and fold so it points down and slightly across the midpoint. The fold can be a soft curve or a crisp line.
- Fold the right end in the same way so the ribbon crosses itself about a half inch below the fold.
- Where the ribbon crosses itself, use the small safety pin to hold the ribbon in place, concealing the pin behind the ribbon.
- This same pin can be used to attach the ribbon to a collar or lapel. You’ll need to remove the pin from the ribbon, saving the fold, then work from inside your shirt to pin on the folded pink ribbon.
Options: The ribbon can also be sewn together where it crosses by machine or by hand with a few stitches of pink thread. You can also use super strength glue to hold the ribbon together; then double stick tape or a safety pin can hold it to lapel.
Call your American Cancer Society anytime, day or night at 1-800-ACS-2345 for more information about breast cancer and to find out how you can join the fight against this disease.