National Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Six Celebrities Who Battled Breast Cancer
October is usually welcomed with pumpkin picking and children scattering to choose Halloween costumes. It is also National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Several websites, blogs and social media pages around the global will be going pink for the duration of October.
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which has been around for 25 years, is an annual campaign dedicated to increase awareness of the disease. It is a collaboration of national public service organizations, professional medical associations and government agencies working together to promote breast cancer awareness.
More than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2008 more than 40,000 women lost their battle against breast cancer.
A recent study found that a third of women are too scared to conduct self-exams.
Though some health experts believe celebrity involvement in public health campaigns can do more harm than good, Simon Chapman, Professor of Public Health at the University of Sydney, believes celebrity endorsement can bring personal and compelling authenticity to public health issues.
To kick off National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, reduce fear and motivate more women to conduct self-exams, here are a list of celebrities who battled breast cancer and won.