Think Pink!
/A very relevant repost of a blog from October 2013 ....
I received an email from our Australian friends, Mike & Sue, on Yarandoo. They lived in the USA for several years and were commenting about the pumpkin mania and Hallowe'en frenzy that occurs in October in the States each year. They made mention of a “ pink pumpkin” promotion in Australia currently to benefit Breast Cancer Awareness month. Come to find out, these distinctive pink pumpkins were developed in Australia.
It piqued my interest and I thought I'd look into it further. Sure enough … it's being promoted here in the States, too. I'd just never heard of it. Finally … something productive stems from all that pumpkin mania.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month worldwide … just in case you've been living in a cave for awhile or at sea on a sailboat. I'm a breast cancer survivor from 1997... a poster child for early detection of a disease which affects 1 in 8 women in the USA. I had no family history of breast cancer nor any of the other risk factors I'd read about. I went in for a routine mammogram and got a phone call from my physician at my desk at work. “There's a problem. Come back in for more tests.” The rest is history. I'm alive; I live on a sailboat; and I'm sailing around the world with David.
In general, breast cancer is most prevalent in the developed nations of the world and hence incidence in North America, England, Australia/New Zealand and Europe are highest, but it occurs worldwide and knows no racial nor ethnic boundaries.
I've done fun walks and fund raisers in Tasmania, Tonga and the US. My mom knitted and sold mittens for years and donated the proceeds to Breast Cancer Awareness. There's lots you can do to help. So … “Think Pink” this month.