Newspaper in the pink
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Readers may have noticed a change to L’Observateur’s front page recently. That pink you see is no printer’s error; it is, of course, in reference to October’s designation as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Although the designation began in 1985, its now-ubiquitous symbol, the pink ribbon, was not established until 1993. Since then, pink has become one of the most popular colors associated with the month of October, right up there with black and orange. The color has infiltrated even the most unlikely of places, the National Football League, and throughout the month the burly athletes can be seen sporting gloves, shoes, hats and other items emblazoned with hot pink.
All this pink, however, means nothing in and of itself; instead it reminds the public of the importance of getting regularly checked for the disease and the need for funds to help find a cure.
Breast cancer strikes indiscriminately. Women both young and old, regardless of lifestyle, have been diagnosed with the life-threatening disease. What’s more, the diagnosis, while not necessarily a death sentence drastically changes the lives of the diagnosed as well as that of husbands, children and other family members.
Starting Saturday, L’Observateur will join the fight against breast cancer by running a special page four times during the month of October. This page features not only local screenings and fundraising events, but will also shine a spotlight on breast cancer survivors of the River Parishes.
So this month, think pink because the lives of our mothers, grandmothers, daughters, aunts and sisters could depend on it.