October arrives with changing leaves, cooler mornings and a familiar color popping up everywhere: pink. Pink shirts. Pink ribbons. Pink decorations. Pink events. It is easy to see pink so often that we may even stop noticing it, yet maybe that is exactly why October matters. Pink is not simply a color. October’s pink ribbon is a reminder to pay attention to something that can feel uncomfortable, frightening and very personal: breast cancer awareness. According to the Vermont Department of Health (VDH), www.healthvermont.gov, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among Vermont women. The VDH also reports that 75% of Vermont women ages 40–74 met breast cancer screening recommendations in 2024, meaning they had a mammogram within the previous two years. That also means one in four did not. However, one of the biggest myths worth putting in the pink spotlight: “Breast cancer doesn’t run in my family, so I don’t have to worry about it.” Prevention and information are always worth it! Getting the “all clear,” from your mammograms is always better than skipping it!
Here’s the facts, to beat that myth, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), www.cancer.gov, most people diagnosed with breast cancer do not have a known family history of the disease. Only about 5% to 10% of breast cancers are believed to be hereditary. Family history can increase risk, but having no family history does not mean having no risk. That is where screening comes in. In life and in health, we don’t know, what we don’t know, and the screening tools used for breast cancer surely bring to light some of the best relief and some of the best opportunities to jump to action when the family history isn’t the best measurement too.
VDH also reminds Vermonters that mammography is the best available method for detecting breast cancer at its earliest, most treatable stage. For women at average risk, current U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations call for screening every two years from ages 40 through 74. Your own health history may mean a different schedule, so talking with your health care provider matters. Yes, self-breast exams can be helpful if that is something you do routinely, and knowing your body matters, but imaging from a
mammogram and having images consistently taken to show the timelines and health of your body is really the way to go.
Then there is the phone call nobody wants. “Your mammogram needs additional imaging.” Those words can turn an ordinary Tuesday into a very long week. According to the American Cancer Society, (ACA), www.cancer.org, being called back after a screening mammogram is fairly common and does not mean you have breast cancer. Fewer than one in 10 women called back for additional testing are ultimately found to have cancer. That means more than 90% of women who are called back in do not have cancer. Often, additional mammogram images or an ultrasound simply provides a closer look at something that was unclear in the first pictures.
The waiting is still scary. And for someone who has already had breast cancer, a follow-up appointment can carry an entirely different kind of weight. A person can be cancer-free and still carry the memories of diagnosis, treatment, waiting rooms, scans, and phone calls. “All clear” can be one of the most beautiful phrases in the English language, but getting to that phrase can still be stressful.
This is why PINK matters. Pink means community. For some people, pink is a celebration of where they have been and where they are now. It represents a team they will forever be part of a team nobody ever wants another person to have to join. For everyone else, pink can be a reminder to take care of the person wearing the body beneath the pink shirt.
And here in the NEK we have something important on our side: access to impressive technology and people who know how to use it. North Country Hospital, www.northcountryhospital.org, offers breast imaging close to home, including 3D mammography. The hospital has also added advanced mammography technology designed to provide highly detailed three-dimensional images of breast tissue. When technology is here, and the people behind it are here, using it is an important part of taking care of ourselves. If you are nearby this month, check out their special display outside the department is filled with information about Breast Cancer Awareness Month, screening, and prevention. It is worth taking a look.
October also gives us opportunities to turn awareness into action and have some fun while we are doing it. The Wellness Center and NCH Worksite Wellness will kick off “Wear Pink Wednesdays” for the month. Then on Saturday, October 10, The Wellness Center will host Drum in PINK at 8:30 a.m., complete with door prizes and a prize for the best pink outfit. On Saturday, October 24, at 10 a.m., Pause in PINK will offer restorative yoga and Yoga Nidra, again with door prizes. There will be more opportunities throughout the month to move, connect and support breast health.
Wear pink. Wear it for yourself. Wear it for someone you love. Wear it for someone who is waiting for a test result, someone celebrating an all-clear, someone who has heard the words no one wants to hear, or someone whose story ended far too soon.
Most importantly, let the pink remind you to make the appointment, ask the question, follow up, and use the remarkable health care resources available right here in our community. Because pink isn’t asking us to be afraid. Pink is asking us to pay attention. And sometimes paying attention is one of the healthiest things we can do. Remember the PINK!