Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Getting Involved
The pink ribbon became the international symbol of breast cancer in 1991
When people think about breast cancer awareness, many immediately think of the pink ribbon. Ribbons became a widespread symbol of support back in 1979, when a wife of one of the men held in the Iran Hostage Crisis used a yellow ribbon to show her support for her husband and the other hostages. The Susan G. Komen Foundation first started distributing the now-famed pink ribbons in 1991 to the participants of one of its fundraising races in New York City.
Though breast cancer has become ubiquitous with the pink ribbon, there’s more to Breast Cancer Awareness Month than flaunting the ribbon. The goal of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is to support women with a history of breast cancer through improving early detection, education and support services.
