I visited the Pink Palace today…otherwise known as the neighborhood mall. My kids commented on how much pink there was and asked where the pumpkins and ghosts were since it's October. I explained that it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and that many stores have special deals in which proceeds from sales go to breast cancer research and awareness. I explained to them that it’s a good thing and that’s why so many people and stores participate. And it is.
Then my daughter said, “Look daddy! It’s YOUR ribbon!” Sure enough, I looked at the Lady Footlocker display and saw this:
Well, obviously, it’s not “my” ribbon…it was part of a display for "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer." Still, I was a little taken back in that breast cancer awareness is a pink RIBBON campaign…but here before me was a black ribbon associated with breast cancer awareness.
Melanoma awareness isn’t as established, and there’s a mixed of orange and black awareness colors, but the primary associated color is black. Black ribbons represent many other things (mourning, remembrance, and gang prevention among others)…but when it comes to cancer, it belongs to melanoma awareness.
I understand the main color of the display was pink, with black lettering. But when it comes to the actual ribbon…breast cancer awareness folks, PLEASE stick with pink. We melanoma folks are having a tough enough time establishing our own presence without having our ribbon color be used by others.
(And for those that might call me hypocritical since I use the word “pink” in my own campaign, you may have a point. But I've only used a black ribbon, with the exception of the black AND pink ribbon when discussing the genetic link between the two cancers.)
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