It’s time to start seeing pink again. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness month!

I am the Philanthropy Chair for my chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha, so a lot of my time and energy, year round, is focused on awareness, education and fundraising for breast cancer. I love holding this position because this a disease that hits home for me and that has affected my family. Not only did it directly affect my family, but one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. That is an uncomfortably large percentage of women and that is something that I feel needs to change.

Many times I have heard that there is ”too much focus” on breast cancer awareness, but with a statistic like that I don’t think there can be enough information and light brought to the situation. Every type of disease and cancer is absolutely terrifying and awful and deserves to be recognized and prevented. Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and that is why it is so important for us to do anything we can about it.

When we see pink, we need to start thinking and taking action. Seeing pink needs to be a reminder to do something and get to know yourself. Know your normal and give yourself a self-examination. Early detection of breast cancer is so important in treating it.

There is a great non-profit organization that ZTA is nationally partnered with called Bright Pink. They have an amazing tool to assess your risk. This easy to use tool asks you a few personal questions and then at the end tells you your risk to breast and ovarian cancer. It literally takes about 2 minutes to get some very important and possibly life-saving information.

Think of the most important woman/women in your life. Think of their presence and importance in your life. Now think of yourself and how you might be that person for someone else. We, as women, need to look out for each other and make sure we are educating ourselves and doing whatever it takes to keep ourselves healthy. We need to talk. Having a simple conversation with your mom, sister, partner in crime, maid of honor, aunt, girl crush, or friend-at-first-sight could change and save a life. Remember, you are in control of your life and how you live it. Don’t leave it up to chance.