5 Ways to Make Breast Cancer Awareness Month Count

October 7, 2026 · Breast Cancer, Events & Fundraising

A woman holds a pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness. — Photo: Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash

Every October, pink ribbons show up everywhere, from football fields to yogurt lids. Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a good reminder, but awareness on its own doesn't find a single cancer or pay a single bill. What helps is action: getting screened, knowing your risk, giving to groups that do real work, and showing up for people going through treatment.

Breast cancer is still the most common cancer in American women apart from skin cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 321,910 women and 2,670 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2026, and about 42,140 women and 530 men will die of it. Here are five ways to make this month count.

1. Get screened, or remind someone you love

The single most useful thing many people can do this month is book a mammogram. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now recommends a screening mammogram every two years for women ages 40 to 74, and most health plans cover screening with no copay. Our guide to the updated screening advice explains how often to go and what insurance pays for.

If you're up to date, use October to nudge a sister, friend or coworker who isn't. Offer to go together, or help them find a center. You can search our directory of imaging and screening centers by ZIP code.

2. Know your own risk

Screening advice is built for women at average risk. Some women need to start earlier or add other tests, and many don't know they're in that group. Things that raise risk include a parent, sister or daughter with breast cancer, a known gene change such as BRCA1 or BRCA2, radiation to the chest at a young age, and dense breast tissue.

The National Cancer Institute's Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool gives women a rough estimate of their chance of developing breast cancer in the next five years and over their lifetime. It isn't meant for women who have had breast cancer, DCIS or LCIS, who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation or another inherited syndrome such as Li-Fraumeni, or who had chest radiation (for example, for Hodgkin lymphoma); they should talk with their doctor or a genetics specialist instead. Bring the result to your next checkup and ask whether your screening plan should change. Our page on breast cancer risk factors has more.

3. Give wisely

October brings a flood of pink products, and not all of them do much good. Breast Cancer Action, which runs the "Think Before You Pink" campaign, suggests asking four questions before you buy something pink:

Does any money from this purchase actually go to breast cancer programs, and how much?
Which organization gets the money, and what will it do with it?
Is there a cap on the company's donation, and has it already been reached?
Does the purchase expose you or someone you love to chemicals linked to breast cancer?

Often the simplest choice is to skip the product and give directly to an organization you've checked. The Federal Trade Commission suggests looking up charities with the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, CharityWatch or Candid's GuideStar, and checking that a charity is registered in your state. Be wary of pressure to give on the spot, and of anyone asking for payment by gift card or wire transfer.

Think about what kind of work you want to support: research, screening for people without insurance, help with treatment costs, rides to appointments, or support for people living with metastatic breast cancer. Our directory of national organizations and financial assistance groups is a place to start.

4. Support someone going through it

If someone you know is in treatment, a specific offer beats "let me know if you need anything." Drive them to an appointment, drop off a meal, pick up their kids, walk the dog, or sit with them during a chemotherapy infusion. Small, practical help matters most when treatment drags on for months.

Remember the people who don't fit the pink-ribbon picture too: men with breast cancer, and people living with metastatic (stage 4) breast cancer, who are in treatment for the rest of their lives. October 13 is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day.

5. Volunteer or speak up

Many cancer organizations rely on volunteers. The American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery program, for example, recruits volunteer drivers to give patients free rides to treatment. Drivers need a valid license, insurance, a safe car, and a background check, and they choose when to drive. Local hospitals, hospices and support groups often need help too.

You can also speak up. Share accurate information instead of viral myths, tell your own story if you're a survivor, and contact your elected officials about issues like cancer research funding and the cost of care.

The bottom line

Pink ribbons are a start. This October, schedule your mammogram or help someone else schedule theirs, learn your risk, check where your donations go, and offer real help to someone in treatment. Those steps make a difference long after the month is over.

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Talk with your doctor about your own situation.