By Nancy Azzam

The month of October, as many know, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is a time annually devoted to educating everyone about breast cancer, including the importance of early detection, and the need to have access to timely, high-quality care.

“Each year in the United States, about 240,000 women get breast cancer and 42,000 women die from the disease,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

In order to address the many women affected by breast cancer, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) was established in October of 1985. This was a partnership between the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries to promote mammograms, seen as the most effective tool to fight breast cancer. Now, it is a worldwide event, celebrated as “Pink October” with companies adopting the pink color. As a result, people globally wear the pink ribbon to help spread awareness about breast health, encouraging many to get screened for the disease.

 “Other than skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women. Mammograms are the best way to find breast cancer early, when it is easier to treat and before it is big enough to feel or cause symptoms,” according to the CDC.

Last year’s theme in 2022 was “Together We Rise” through which breast cancer education was implemented on a global scale. The theme for 2023 is, “No one should face breast cancer alone,” which serves as a helpful reminder for providers to consider the many ways they can partner with patients and families in the prevention, detection, and treatment of breast cancer. 

This year’s theme is especially significant due to concerns that COVID-19  delayed many patients’ regular breast cancer screenings. Additionally, the pandemic caused disruption to breast cancer research. 

The COVID-19 pandemic also highlighted the inequities in breast cancer treatments for under-resourced communities across the country, as well as the inequity in treatment between Black and white women. “Black women in the U.S. are about 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women,” according to the Susan G. Komen organization, the world’s largest nonprofit source of funding for the fight against breast cancer.

Breast cancer may not impact someone individually, but it can impact their loved ones, so it is necessary to educate oneself and others about the disease in order to ensure that awareness continues to spread.