Most people have good intentions when Pink October rolls around. They truly want to do something to help cure breast cancer — a disease that is estimated to cause 43,250 deaths in the United States in 2022. Breast cancer is also the leading cancer worldwide, accounting for approximately 685,000 deaths in 2020.
The truth is, thanks to efforts made over the last 40 years, pretty much every American over the age of 6 is likely already aware of breast cancer. And unfortunately, early detection and awareness are not the cure-alls we once thought back when the pink ribbon was invented.
Many women will be diagnosed with an early stage of it, get treated, and then still go on to have a metastatic relapse. During this stage, treatments are less likely to work and women are more likely to succumb to the disease. This is why we should start focusing our efforts on helping people who have advanced cancer. This goes beyond buying pink T-shirts or ribbons or reminding women to get checked.
In this article, we provide 12 actionable things you can do during it awareness month, to support people living with cancer and those working on a cure.
1. Focus on support, rather than awareness
When picking a charity, make sure its focus is on patient support, not awareness. Patient support comes in many forms: from makeup classes, gas cards, and wigs, to exercise classes, and even full payment of treatment. All of these things can help a person with breast cancer through a trying time, both emotionally and physically.
Charities that focus on patient support include:
You can also reach out to resources in your geographic area, as many local organizations provide direct support to those in need, but don’t have a national presence. A social worker or patient navigator at a hospital or clinic near you can help you identify local resources.
2. Donate to research initiatives
Research is critical. Globally, metastatic breast cancer receives much less funding than early-stage breast cancer, even though it’s the only form of breast cancer that you can actually die of.
Most of the charitable money goes to basic research with little clinical application. So, when you’re looking for charities to donate to, it’s important to find ones that are trying to get an actual cure to patients and not just giving lip service to the idea of “awareness.”
StandUp2Cancer and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation are two excellent charities that are doing just that.
You can also use the Charity Navigator website to search for and donate to breast cancer charities. This website rates charities based on their use of funds, efficiency, and impact.
3. Help out someone you know who has cancer
“Let me know if I can do anything for you.” Most of us with cancer hear that phrase often … and then never see that person again. The longer we’re on treatment, the more we need help. We need our dogs walked, we need our kids to be driven somewhere, we need our bathrooms cleaned.
So, if you know somebody who has cancer, don’t ask how you can help. Tell them how you plan to. Don’t put the burden of asking for help on the cancer patient.
Many people with breast cancer also use websites like Caring Bridge or Lotsahelpinghands to organize support for meals, drives to chemo, laundry, pet walking, and more.
4. Donate clothes to a chemo center
Did you know you can make a difference in a cancer patient’s life without even ever speaking to them? In every town, there are community oncologists who will accept donations of blankets, hats, or scarves.
Talk with the staff at the front desk of your local hospital’s breast cancer ward or chemotherapy center and ask if they’re willing to accept items.
