It’s that time of year again! No, not just autumn, but Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On October 17, Panther Creek hosted its annual Pink-Out game. Where once a year, our football players’ trade in their Columbia blue to sport anything pink that Nike has to offer. Likewise, the student section transforms into a sea of magenta. Although, after conducting a poll from the students, PCNN reporters found out just how little our fans knew about breast cancer. While about 91% of students polled attended the pink out game, fewer than 50% knew that men could get breast cancer. Sure football is America’s pastime, but it’s vital to get educated on the cause you are supporting. That’s what Breast Cancer Awareness Month is all about.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen: and just like that, 1 in 7 people are diagnosed with breast cancer every nineteen seconds. Every thirteen minutes, someone dies. What may start out as a lump the size of a pea, can take surgery, targeted drugs, and radiation, chemo, or hormone therapy to overcome. According to dosomething.org, if breast cancer continues at its current rate, “10.6 million women will die from the disease in the next 25 years.” Cancer.gov estimates it to kill 40,000 women and 430 men in 2014. Being less probable in men, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States, after skin cancer. Nonetheless, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the more people become aware of breast cancer, the easier it is to identify.

That is why we host this Pink-Out game – the curiosity established leads to a peak in research and provokes attentiveness. The month-long campaign of breast cancer awareness has been called Pinktober because of the increased production of pink goods for sale. NationalBreastCancer.org defines October as, “an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease.” In result, Breast cancers are being detected at an earlier, more treatable stage. Similarly, The Mayo Clinic addresses the public support as it has “helped improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Survival rates have increased and the number of deaths have been declining.” All of these major results, just by spreading the color pink.

All in all, Breast Cancer Awareness campaigns have been highly effective in getting attention for the disease. What is more prevalent than a pink ribbon? Being confident in what you stand for. Sure anyone can throw on a fuchsia top, but being educated on the story behind that shirt is what’s important.