Breast Cancer Awareness

by Dan Griswold

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month in the United States. Most people are aware of this because everyone wears pink throughout the whole month. Most sports teams around the country wear pink during their games in an effort to promote breast cancer awareness.

North Attleboro High School will also be participating in Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For its part, the Student Council will be selling candy at all lunches to raise money for breast cancer research. They are also holding teacher dress-down days on every Friday in October, with a suggested $2 donation. Finally, the Student Council asks that students wear pink on Fridays to raise awareness.

So far, the Student Council efforts alone have raised just under $300. They are hoping to reach the $500 milestone by the end of the month.

Another organization doing their part to raise money for breast cancer research is the Volleyball Team. Senior class treasurer, Nick Pedro, said, “The volleyball team has done a lot to raise money like having a bake sale, running a volleyball tournament and doing a breast cancer walk. It’s great to see our school doing so much for a great cause.”

Breast Cancer is a disease that affects millions of lives. One in eight women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their lifetime, and an estimated 40,000 women die in the U.S every year due to breast cancer.

According to the Susan G. Komen website, while the incidents of breast cancer have remained relatively stable since 2007, the mortality rate has decreased 34 percent since 2007. This is largely due to increased screening and improved treatment, both of which are directly affected by fundraising and awareness efforts like at NAHS.

Since breast cancer is so significant, it is important that a cure is found as soon as possible. Raising awareness is a great way to start the process of early diagnosis, and fundraising can help fund a cure for breast cancer once and for all.