October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), when public service groups, medical professionals, government agencies and others work to promote awareness of the disease. Promoting awareness involves education about prevention and treatments, fundraising efforts to help find cures, and support for survivors and those dealing directly with the disease. Breast cancer is the fifth deadliest form of cancer worldwide, and on this 25th anniversary of NBCAM, the organization that started it wants to remind women everywhere to practice regular breast self-exams and to schedule regular visits and annual mammograms with their health care provider.
1. Chinese women distribute questionnaires to pedestrians for a campaign on breast cancer awareness, in downtown Zhengzhou, north China's Henan province on October 12, 2010. An increasing taste for Western-style junk food and unhealthy lifestyles have caused the rate of breast cancer among urban Chinese women to jump sharply over the past decade, a state-run newspaper said. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
2. The White House is bathed in pink light for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month October 14, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
3. People walk past as the Parliament Buildings are lit up in pink in support of Breast Cancer awareness month in Ottawa, Ontario on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010. (AP Photo/THE CANADIAN PRESS/Pawel Dwulit)
4. A football with the breast cancer awareness pink ribbon is seen during the game between the New York Giants and the Detroit Lions at New Meadowlands Stadium on October 17, 2010 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Nick Laham/Getty Images)
5. Lindsay Avner, left, founder of Bright Pink, a breast cancer awareness organization, demonstrates a breast exam with E! Television personality Giuliana Rancic, during a live webcast in Chicago on breast cancer awareness and prevention on Sept. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
6. Pink balloons fill the air following a halftime ceremony for breast cancer awareness during the second half of an NFL football game between the Denver Broncos and the New York Jets Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010, in Denver. (AP Photo/Joe Mahoney)
7. Competitors leave the start line during a special group photo shoot, with the Harbour Bridge in the background, at the "Venus Embrace Closest Stiletto Relay" in Sydney on September 28, 2010. An official world record was set at the event for the fastest ever 4x100m stiletto relay, which saw women in teams of four running in stilettos with a minimum height of 3 inches, to help raise funds to find a cure for breast cancer. (GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images)
8. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is illuminated in pink as part of the Estee Lauder Companies' Sydney Global Illumination event in support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, on September 28, 2010 in Sydney, Australia. (Sergio Dionisio/Getty Images)
9. NASA software used to enhance Earth Science Imagery could one day aid in the interpretation of mammograms, ultrasounds and other medical imagery. The left image shows an original mammogram before MED-SEG processing. The image on the right, with region of interest (white) labeled, shows a mammogram after MED-SEG processing. The new MED-SEG system, developed by Bartron Medical Imaging, Inc., relies on software developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to help doctors analyze mammograms, ultrasounds, digital X-rays, and other medical imaging tests. (NASA/Bartron Medical Imaging)
10. The light at the end of the tunnel as can be seen when patients enter the treatment bunker in Erasmus MC's newest linear accelerator situated in Dordrecht, Netherlands. This machine is used for external beam radiotherapy, otherwise known as teletherapy, the most frequently used form of radiotherapy. The patient sits or lies on a couch and an external source of radiation is pointed at a particular part of the body. In contrast to internal radiotherapy (brachytherapy), in which the radiation source is placed inside the body, external beam radiotherapy directs the radiation at the tumor from outside the body. This machine is called "Pegasus" (full set of Pegasus photos here) Original here. (© Vincent Riemersma)
11. To'cate / Touch Yourself. Breast Cancer is the the fifth most common cause of cancer death worldwide. However, it can be detected and treated before it's too late - prevention is the key. The National Breast Cancer Foundation recommends doing a breast self-exam a minimum of once a month. Original here. (Jose' Orsini / CC BY-SA)
12. Over 100 Pink Glove Dancers, who are a combination of health-care workers and cancer survivors, do the "Pink-Glove Dance" to promote breast cancer awareness on "FOX & Friends" at the FOX Studios on September 29, 2010 in New York City. (Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
13. River Danube's historical Chain Bridge is lit in pink during the "Health Bridge" campaign to raise awareness for breast cancer in downtown Budapest, Hungary October 2, 2010. (REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo)
14. The statue of Christ the Redeemer is lit up in pink for the start of the national campaign "Pink October" to raise awareness for breast cancer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Sergio Moraes)
15. Illuminated in pink for breast cancer awareness, the statue of Christ the Redeemer is seen above Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
16. Alexis Thompson wears a pair of pink golf shoes to observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month during the second round of the Navistar LPGA Classic at the Senator Course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail on October 8, 2010 in Prattville, Alabama. (Darren Carroll/Getty Images)
17. John Russo, a fan of the Red Bulls, painted his face pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month prior to the match between Real Salt Lake and New York Red Bulls on October 9, 2010 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images for New York Red Bulls)
18. The Le Royal Hotel is lit in pink in central Amman, Jordan on October 2, 2010, to mark the start of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. (REUTERS/Ali Jarekji)
19. The walls of Jerusalem's Old City are illuminated by pink lights marking the launch of a breast cancer awareness campaign in Israel on October 25, 2010. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)
20. The ancient Mayan pyramids of Chichen Itza, in Mexico's southern state of Yucatan, are lit in pink light as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month October 19, 2010. (REUTERS/Jacinto Kanek)
21. Actress Amanda Mealing (who was diagnosed in 2002 with breast cancer) and 628 children from Stamford junior school break the world record for "tummy patting and head rubbing" at Stamford Junior School on October 15, 2010 in Stamford, England. The event was organized by Charity Breast Cancer Care as part of "Pink Fridays". (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
22. A young participant in the BRIGHT Run, a fundraising event for breast cancer research in Hamilton, Ontario is seen on September 11th, 2010. Original here. (Rick Harris / CC BY-SA)