Have you checked your breasts yet?
What? Have I made you feel uncomfortable? Well, I was going for that. Come October and everybody is doing their part to spread breast cancer awareness. We’re wearing our pink ribbons and raising funds, but how much do we really do it for ourselves? Do we really spend a good amount of time talking about the health of our breasts? Do we remind friends and family to get screened? Do we even do it ourselves?
I’m presuming that there’s a string of ‘No’s have followed my questions. In a country where something as natural as menstruating continues to be stigmatized, breast cancer too is one of the most hushed topics in the community. In fact, breast cancer is such a hush-hush topic that about 60% of cases are detected in the advanced stages.
Understandably we feel uncomfortable and little queasy when we talk about breast in a nonsexual way. We all assume that the topic about breasts only come up in sexy talk. But apart from the fear of being judged, we also have that human tendency to believe that breast cancer can never have to us.
Breast cancer is a serious disease. It is the second leading cause of death in women today. While I know that I have the women locked in, some men are feeling may feel disconnected from the issue and have probably glazed over. But men aren’t entirely immune to the disease. It may be rare, but 1% of breast cancer cases occur in men. Have I got your attention now?
It’s safe to say that we all want to do our part for the cause, but breast health should be more than just wearing pink ribbons and pinkwashing everything around you. The world is losing way too many loved ones to the disease, and it’s everybody’s problem.
October shouldn’t be the end of our fight against cancer, which is why we are sharing an infographic about breast cancer and the different ways you can protect yourself. So go ahead and wear a pink ribbon and share the infographic with everyone in your life. But most importantly, talk to one another about breasts and make a change, because only together we are #StrongInPink.
