When it comes to finding solutions to the many problems facing our lives, His Holiness the Dalai Lama s message, Change only takes place through action, might very well have been the rallying call that galvanized the millions of women throughout the world to support the annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every October since 1985 the recognizable symbol of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, pink ribbons, are displayed on TV, poster and magazine advertisements as well as proudly adorn women s lapels. The multitudes of runs, hikes, walks and other fund-raising events raise hundreds of millions of dollars to conquer that dreaded scourge of the modern woman, breast cancer. High profile companies like Avon, Lee Denim and Revlon have joined ranks along with the Susan G. Komen Foundation s Race for a Cure and the Los Angeles City of Hope Hospital s Walk for Hope.
Popular celebrities lead the charge.
Each year 180,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 44,000 will die of the disease. The U.S. has one of the highest breast cancer rates in the world. Fifty years ago the incidence for a woman s lifetime risk was one in 20. Now it has skyrocketed to one in eight. Clearly the war on cancer has not even made a dent into the breast cancer epidemic as the numbers continue to climb at the rate of one percent a year.