It's October: Why Breast Cancer Awareness Month Matters

Today is October 1st, the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Growing up, October wasn't just about Halloween and leaves changing color. For my family, it meant something far more personal. Every autumn, as the world filled with pink ribbons, I'd watch my mom smile through the exhaustion, her strength unwavering even during her toughest days. She faced breast cancer for almost two-and-one-half decades, but she never faced it alone.  She had her family and friends supporting her, her medical team, and she had the hope and the power of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

From Dining Rooms to a Global Movement

Breast Cancer Awareness Month began in 1985 as a partnership between the American Cancer Society and Imperial Chemical Industries, but its most powerful symbol came from somewhere far humbler. In 1991, Charlotte Haley, a 68-year-old survivor who'd watched her grandmother, sister, and daughter all battle breast cancer, crafted peach-colored ribbons at her dining room table with handwritten cards demanding change.

When Estée Lauder and Self magazine wanted to partner with her, she declined, sensing corporate involvement might dilute her message. So, they changed the color to pink and launched their campaign in October 1992, transforming breast cancer awareness forever.

Why October Changes Everything

When my mom was first diagnosed, breast cancer was not commonly talked about. Today, thanks, in part, to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it's a conversation we can all have. This transformation isn't just symbolic, it's lifesaving. Since 1989, increased awareness and the critical importance of early detection and treatment have helped reduce breast cancer deaths in the United States by 44%. That's millions of families like mine who got more time with the people they love.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month accomplishes what individual efforts alone cannot: it creates a unified voice that demands attention, funding, and progress. Breast cancer mortality rates declined 42% from 1989 through 2021, with many attributing this to increased awareness and improvements in early detection. Without this annual focus, mammograms would be missed, and funding for research would fall short. This month makes screening messages impossible to ignore, reaching people who might otherwise postpone or avoid life-saving early detection.

Real Impact for Families Like Mine

For my family, Breast Cancer Awareness Month provided invaluable community and resources. My family and I found strength in each other.  As a kid, I learned to be quiet during chemo recovery days and celebrate small victories like good blood counts and clear scans. 

During my mom’s journey, the doctor’s referred to a good test result as ‘No Evidence of Disease.’   Mom called it dancing with NED!!

Advocacy efforts sparked by Breast Cancer Awareness Month have resulted in more than $4 billion in federal dollars for breast cancer research. That research funded the treatments that gave my mom more birthdays and holidays. This is the direct result of October's annual focus, awareness translates to funding, and funding translates to lives saved.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month also ensures no one is overlooked. October 13 is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, and October 17-23 is Men's Breast Cancer Awareness Week, reminding us that this disease touches everyone differently.

Shared Stories, Shared Hope: The World Change Coalition Connection

The spirit of Breast Cancer Awareness Month lives beyond October in organizations like the World Change Coalition, a social enterprise born from the same place of love and loss. Founded by someone who watched their mother battle breast cancer for almost two and one-half decades, the World Change Coalition embodies the values of human empathy, perseverance, and dignity that cancer families understand intimately.

What makes the World Change Coalition's approach meaningful is how it mirrors awareness itself, turning personal experiences and challenges into purposeful action. Just as Breast Cancer Awareness Month transforms individual struggles and uncertainty into collective progress, the World Change Coalition channels one person's promise to their mother into tangible support for cancer patients facing their own challenging journeys.

The World Change Coalition's commitment to providing financial support for organizations supporting women with breast cancer.  While Breast Cancer Awareness Month shines a spotlight on breast cancer, organizations like this ensure the conversation never stops and the support never wavers. Their work reminds us that awareness isn't just about information, it's about showing up for people when they need it most.

This alignment reveals a powerful truth: change happens when personal stories become shared missions. Whether it's Charlotte Haley at her dining room table, my mom facing another treatment, or someone launching a social enterprise in their mother's memory, these acts of courage create ripples that reach families we will never meet. Each blog post shared, each dollar donated, each purpose-driven purchase, are the building blocks of progress that gives families hope.

The World Change Coalition’s logo, the founder's mother's fingerprint, captures something profound. Like my memories of October mornings with my mom, these permanent marks remind us that every person lost to cancer leaves an indelible impression on those who loved them. When we channel that love into action, we honor not just our own mothers, but every mother, daughter, and sister still fighting.

How You Can Make a Difference

Supporting breast cancer research doesn't require grand gestures. Schedule your annual mammogram and encourage the women in your life to do the same, early detection saves lives. Donate to reputable organizations like the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Susan G. Komen, or the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Support social enterprises like the World Change Coalition that dedicate their profits to cancer support. Participate in local walks or fundraising events or simply share educational resources on social media. Every action, no matter how small, contributes to the progress that gives families like mine hope.

Why It Matters

My mom taught me that courage is facing each day with unwavering determination despite uncertainty. Breast Cancer Awareness Month embodies that spirit, transforming uncertainty into action and isolation into community. It saves lives through broad education, funds groundbreaking research, and keeps breast cancer at the forefront of public health.

As I reflect on my childhood Octobers and my mom's strength, I'm grateful for my family, my mom's lifelong friends, and everyone who made breast cancer a conversation instead of a secret. I'm grateful too for those who continue this work year-round, turning their own uncertainty and, yes losses, into legacies of care and support for others.

This October, this year’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let's continue transforming awareness into action, because behind every statistic is someone's mother, and she deserves every chance to see tomorrow.

That's the promise and power of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

As always, I thank all of you that follow and support the World Change Coalition.  I thank my mom for all that she taught her son’s.  For any of you going through breast cancer, I hope that you are all dancing with NED!  Love and miss you mom, always.  Richie