By the end of October, the edifício dos Paços do Concelho will be illuminated at night with pink lights to raise awareness of the importance of breast cancer prevention, particularly through early diagnosis, which involves screening and raising awareness on the information available as well as the different forms of support to women and families.
The "Pink October" movement was born in the 1990s with the aim of mobilizing society and raising awareness for this disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Since then, the pink color has been used to honor women with breast cancer, raise awareness of prevention and early diagnosis and support research in this area.
“In Portugal, in 2020, around 7000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, with an estimated 1,800 dying from the disease. If diagnosed and treated early, breast cancer has a cure rate of more than 90 percent. Prevention and early diagnosis are fundamental for increasing survival and maintaining women's quality of life.”
"The Municipality supports a cause that is critical to fighting a disease that affects millions of people around the world. It is therefore of paramount importance that public authorities join these initiatives, together with associations, to carry out preventive work that can mitigate these figures. In addition to 'Pink October' the Municipality of Loulé has organised, in partnership with the Oncological Association of the Algarve, the MamaMaratona, whose 21st edition will take place from 10 to 30 October, in mixed format, that is, face-to-face and online" highlights Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé.
These campaigns will be incomplete if the Cancer and Oncology Associations fail to mention that, even if the rate of breast cancer in men is less than 1% when compared to women, the men unfortunately have a higher mortality from this when compared to women. Hype just for the sake of hype is a bit useless if the campaign doesn´t inform PEOPLE (men, women, trans) of FACTS about breast cancer. I had to read a comment from a READER to fit men into my mental “breast cancer” folder information. Otherwise this is just a lighthearted event with women dressed in pink (?). It might as well be a princess party for 7 year olds; same amount of awareness.
By guida from Lisbon on 21 Oct 2021, 04:59