Every October, the color pink is ubiquitous.
It can be found on bright T-shirts in local grocery stores, on looped pieces of cloth attached to metal pins, on signs and brochures and even on ribbon-shaped jewelry with pink diamond-encrusted inlays.
Since its debut in 1991, the pink ribbon and the color pink itself have become inextricably linked with breast cancer advocacy and prevention. Recent research not only highlights the effectiveness of the American Cancer Society’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October but emphasizes how a successful health campaign can significantly impact a specific population and precipitate change.
According to a recent study examining more than three decades of cancer registry data, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month events were effective at increasing diagnosis rates in the subsequent month of November. Although breast cancer awareness efforts by the American Cancer Society can be traced back to the mid-1980s, the study, which was conducted by University planning, public policy and management professor Grant Jacobsen  and George Mason University epidemiologist Kathryn Jacobsen,  found an increase in diagnosis rates in the early 1990s when large prevention organizations — such as the National Breast Cancer Coalition and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation — joined the effort.
However, breast cancer wasn’t always as popular a topic as it is today.
“In the early 1980s and the decades before that, breast cancer was something that was almost never discussed in public. That’s why the few brave women who disclosed their diagnoses during the pre-NBCAM years – like President Ford’s wife in 1974 and President Reagan’s wife in 1987 – caused significant increases in diagnoses across the U.S. in the months after their stories were in the media,” Kathryn Jacobsen said. “The breast cancer advocacy movement that created NBCAM and made it a huge annual event changed the way Americans talk about breast cancer.”
Although the increase in breast cancer diagnoses may be an initial cause for concern, Grant Jacobsen said the higher numbers can be attributed to the campaign success of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which focuses on prevention methods and getting more women screened for the disease.
“I think this should be interpreted as good news for the breast cancer advocacy and awareness movement,” Grant Jacobsen said in an interview with the University. “The reason for this is because the goal of these campaigns is — at the most general level — to increase routine screening, get women to get diagnosed as the result of habits that they have formed that allow these new cases to be detected as early as possible.”
From the early 1970s to the early 2000s, Grant Jacobsen noted a uniformity in diagnoses throughout the year; however, because there are no longer big spikes that can be attributed to “celebrity diagnoses or because of these specific awareness events, this probably means that awareness throughout the year is higher overall and so is routine screening,” he said.
Grant Jacobsen speculated that several factors may be attributed to the success of breast cancer awareness month, including the fact that large corporate donations allowed the grassroots organization to rise in prominence in the mid-1980s. In addition, Grant Jacobsen noted that the frightening perception of being diagnosed with breast cancer may also contribute to an increased concern for the issue.
However, the amount of new diagnoses have been decreasing at a slight, yet consistent, level. According to figures provided by the American Cancer Society, breast cancer diagnosis rates among women experienced a 1.9 percent decrease from 211,240 new cases in 2005 to 207,090 in 2010. This supports prior research done by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which noted that breast cancer incidents have decreased significantly by 2 percent each year from 1999 to 2006 among women. The CDCP also reported that mortality rates attributed to breast cancer have decreased significantly by 1.9 percent each year from 1998 to 2006 among women.
Nevertheless, American Cancer Society spokesperson Gretchen Groves said the movement is still strong, especially among breast cancer survivors, who have become powerful driving forces for the breast cancer awareness movement.
“I think that the community of breast cancer survivors are just so passionate about the cause,” Groves said. “They’ve really got behind celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I think that any survivor can speak to the fact that they are a survivor and will then also speak to early detection is the best way to prevent breast cancer and increase their chances of leading a healthy lifestyle.”
Among breast cancer survivors, Groves said it is this interconnectivity that drives the solidarity movement fighting toward one common goal: finding a cure. In fact, the National Breast Cancer Foundation has made a bold statement by announcing that Jan. 1, 2020 is the deadline for the end of breast cancer.
“Across the country, they’ll join forces and do everything that they can to help other women and save their lives,” Groves said. “It’s like they’re sisters and friends in the battle against breast cancer, so it really does feel like they have that sense of camaraderie.”
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