Adyar Cancer Institute

Admin | February 21, 2012 | Comments Off

Adyar Cancer Institute

Adyar Cancer Institute

Breast Cancer Awareness Month, once thought to be a serious and inspiring awareness campaign of 25 years plus, has in recent years become an unforseen fashion statement and trend. From tank tops to jewel encrusted key chains and personalized pink water bottles, the operation's signature pink ribbon is highly visible and impossible to ignore. Many experts are now questioning the validity of the campaign and whether it is truly helping women find a cure for breast cancer.

Statistics Show and Tell the Progress Against Breast Cancer

Despite the pink ribbon hoopla, deaths due to breast cancer have only dropped slightly. In addition, the focus on awareness may be pushing women into treatment unnecessarily, which in turn is actually causing cancers to develop.

According to Canadian Cancer Statistics 2010 produced by Canadian Cancer Society, Statistics Canada, Provincial/Territorial Cancer Registries, Public Health Agency of Canada, an estimated 23,200 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and 5,300 will die from it. The bleak reality is that in the 26 years since the campaign started, the death rate from breast cancer has only dropped about 2% per year. According to the National Breast Cancer Coalition in Washington, DC, 117 women in the USA died of breast cancer every day in 1991; presently that number is 110 a day. "I don't think people understand the lack of progress," says Fran Visco, the coalition's president.