Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Its History and its Impacts

Breast cancer awareness largely gained traction in 1978 when Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States, completed her breast cancer treatment. Due to her popularity as First Lady, many Americans were saddened by her diagnosis and empowered by her successful treatment, praising the First Lady’s bravery. Since then, Ford began advocating for breast cancer awareness and early detection as a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society. Ford’s words later became the focus of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which started as a week-long campaign in 1985 headed by the American Cancer Society and Imperial Chemical Industries. Almost a decade later, in 1992, the pink ribbon saw its origins as it was featured on the cover of SELF magazine in a partnership between the magazine’s editor-in-chief and Evelyn Lauder, Estée Lauder's Senior Corporate Vice President. After the release of the issue, Estée Lauder, a cosmetic company, distributed over one million pink ribbons at their cosmetic counters in major retail stores, leading to the ribbon’s increasing popularity.

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month became increasingly popular, specific dates were introduced within the month to acknowledge specific groups of breast cancer patients. These dates include Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day (October 13), National Mammography Day (third Friday of October), and National Men’s Breast Cancer Awareness Week (October 17-23). The pink ribbon has also evolved to include group-specific designs to acknowledge breast cancer variations such as metastatic breast cancer, breast cancer in men, and inflammatory breast cancer.

Since Breast Cancer Awareness Month’s conception, increasing awareness and donations has led to the founding of multiple breast cancer-related organizations. One of these organizations is the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BRCF), co-founded by Evelyn Lauder, which has been responsible for numerous breakthroughs. For example, in 1994, a team of scientists who received grants from the BRCF located the BRCA1 gene, a critical hereditary indicator of breast cancer risk. The following year, another team of scientists who received grants from the foundation located the BRCA2 gene, another critical hereditary marker. Additionally, Breast Cancer Awareness Month has helped promote early detection and screening. This is seen through a 43% decline in breast cancer mortality in women since 1989, which the American Cancer Society has attributed to increased awareness about screening methods such as mammography as well as increased research and improved treatment.