October is Breast cancer awareness month. In my day-to-day life, I don't come across Breast cancer and events raising its awareness until the tenth month of the year. I have family who carry the BRCA gene and some who are afraid to get the test done to see if they have it. I did research of my own to be, even if a little, cognizant of the prevalence of breast cancer in Bahrain. This factsheet from the World Health Organization has the most updated and reliable information.
Some important facts from the Globocan 2018:
- Of all new cancer cases (both female and male), 21.7% were breast cancer
- From that total, breast cancer made up 40% of the new cases for females
- Excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer is the most frequent type of case
- However, breast cancer ranks second (to lung cancer) in causes of death from cancer
Hospitals and organizations are dedicated to raising awareness. For example, Think Pink is an inspiring support group and during the month of October, coupons and discounts on mammograms are offered at many clinics, etc.
With the intention of raising awareness and showing support to the breast cancer survivors, I took up a knitting project to knit Ribbons of hope during this month. This is the pattern I followed which is available on Ravelry for free. I made a few changes to the pattern, so that it can be worn as a brooch with a little safety pin. DM me on Instagram, if you would like one or many for yourself and, your friends and family.
