Game Ball to the “Pink” NFL….
It’s October and that means National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The White House is glowing in soft pink. Spin the dial and you’re bound to find a breast cancer expert on just about any of the morning news programs, radio or TV. And on any given Sunday, believe it or not, there are NFL players wearing pink wristbands, pink cleats, pink chin straps and the list goes on and on. The refs are even using pink coins in the game opening tosses.
The NFL calls it “A Crucial Catch” campaign. Pro football isn’t just for guys anymore and getting the message out to the more than 58 million women who are watching football is a very smart move. Awareness, knowledge, annual breast screenings, self exams…these are all part of the league’s message.
Many players step out from their teams’ rosters to tape personal messages explaining their one-on-one connection to breast cancer. All of this has raised many millions of dollars directed to breast cancer research.
This Sunday night, if you think you notice a pale pink glow bouncing off the turf at the Chargers-Saints game, you’ll be right. New Orleans is “painting the town pink.” The Super-dome and other prominent buildings in town will be lit, pink.
October 19th, the Buffalo Bills will work with local groups to light Niagara Falls pink and the Indianapolis Colts will partner with their city to turn the canal that runs through town, pink….for the entire month of October.
There are so many ways to get the word out about cancer; so many worthwhile organizations that are determined to find a way to stop this beast.
This month, the game ball goes to the NFL.
October 7, 2012 @ 1:08 am
Great job by the NFl in support of all the breast cancer patients. I love it.
Henderson Cosmetic Dentist
October 4, 2012 @ 7:31 pm
I commend everyone and every organization who gets involved in raising money and awareness of breast cancer. It is so important. Maybe one day a cure.
I also know several families dealing with pediatric cancer..leukemia and other blood cancers. Their little ones are in the fight for their lives. The funding for pediatric cancer research is miniscule, a rounding error but the severity and criticality of finding something to turn the tide in these blood cancers is needed now. Bone marrow transplants receive the attention and they work in some cases. In many, it doesn’t work at all. Where do these doctors and parents turn after the front line defense fails? Money is needed for research.
The Susan Komen Foundation has done a terrific job in marketing the need for money for research and screening. I commend them. Each cancer needs a such a model in order to get its research funds in sufficient amounts to do the needed research.
I follow a family from our church whose little girl is in the fight against leukemia. The church plus lots of family and friends are there for support. However, the arsenal her doctors have to draw upon is limited and the horizon for new drugs is fairly bleak.
As we all know, we sometimes lump all cancer patients into bucket and we say that progress is being made. However, we all know that each cancer battle and each cancer patient is unique to their family. Each day is critical and the ups and downs are so stressful. Let us celebrate the great work being done in the breast cancer fight but at the same time recognize that there are so many different cancers being fought each day that receive little to no attention from the media but yet the fight goes on quietly, prayerfully in hospital and chemo rooms.
October 3, 2012 @ 6:45 pm
The Guardian offered a story today on “commodification” of breast cancer:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/03/pinkification-breast-cancer-awareness-commodified