Showing posts with label Breast Cancer Awareness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Breast Cancer Awareness. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The Importance of Breast Cancer Awareness


Sure, it may be cool these days to complain about how all the pink you see during Breast Cancer Awareness Month hurts your eyes, or to point out that despite all the awareness efforts and money raised, breast cancer is still without a cause. However, breast cancer awareness is a bigger issue now than it ever has been before, and it’s a cause that still needs our help.

First, it’s important to recognize the strides that have been made in the fight against breast cancer. In the time spanning 1990 to 2011, breast cancer deaths declined 25%. Meanwhile, the number of nonprofit organizations committed to fighting breast cancer have increased drastically, from just a few in 1989 to over 200 in 2011. These charities have also combined to raise over $550 million every year in total revenue, according to the National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute.
While these figures are admirable, there’s still plenty of work to do. Globally, women get breast cancer far more than any other form of cancer, with 16.8 million cases diagnosed in 2012, according to the World Health Organization. And in the United States, breast cancer diagnoses are actually on the rise, from 192,370 cases in 2009 to a projected increase of 232,670 in 2014, according to the American Cancer Society.

Looking at the big picture, then, it’s clear that breast cancer needs our support more than ever. Nonprofits can benefit from the foundation and audience that breast cancer awareness campaigns have built, and use these assets as stepping stones to planning campaigns that will be meaningful and engaging to your constituents.