Let's Be More Than Aware of Breast Cancer This Halloween

Ahhh..... October. Cooler air, pumpkins, breast cancer awareness month and the official start of non-stop candy season. I find it interesting and ironic that we become more "aware" of breast cancer and then run out and buy bags and bags of Halloween candy. I was in Target the other day and I swear that end of the store was sagging under the weight! Unbelievable!!

According to a site compiling data from various industries (allbusiness.com), Halloween alone accounts for 35% of all confections sold during the year. The rest of the year accounts for another 27% of annual sales. In other words in the two months between Halloween and New Year's we consume a whopping 62% of our total annual intake of candy. Is it any wonder diet programs are so popular in January. Is it any wonder we need a breast cancer awareness month?

Sugar feeds cancer cells. Sugar creates an acidic cellular environment which supports the growth of cancer cells. Sugar suppresses the immune system which is responsible for eliminating cancer cells before they become a tumor. Sugar promotes weight gain which is fat which promotes the production of estrogen which increases our risk for breast cancer. Are you with me?

The other day in my local newspaper I saw an advertisement for a salon that would give you a pink pedicure and a pink pin (in honor of breast cancer awareness month of course) for a donation to the Susan B. Komen foundation. Great! That's just the solution to "beating" breast cancer. Perhaps they will also provide a bowl of pink and white M&M's for you to snack on while you are being pampered or maybe some yummy Halloween candy just to be festive!

You can probably tell I start to get a little worked about all this. But it is because statistics support that perhaps as much as 70% of all cancer is diet related and because I'm a mom, I know it's darn near impossible to resist this gigantic force that assaults us beginning in October. It's like we fall into some kind of hypnotic trance and our good sense goes on vacation. I also find it very sad that most of the women who will get a pink pedicure have been programmed to believe that she is doing something positive for the cause. Many of those women may be cancer survivors themselves as the odds are not good: according to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 7 women will experience breast cancer in her lifetime. How unfortunate that so little of the media hoopla of Breast Cancer Awareness Month will do anything to prevent new cases.

Get the sugar out of your diet and don't give in to marketing pressure to buy it "just to be festive".

It's time to get real in the fight against cancer by making a personal commitment to prevention activities. Instead of simply being aware and painting our toes pink, take meaningful action. How about a walk with a friend - perhaps a friend who is a cancer survivor. Let her tell you her story. Make that walk a commitment to daily exercise, a proven prevention activity. Commit to eating the recommended amount of produce everyday. That's 7 to 10 servings for most of us and another proven prevention activity. Get the sugar out of your diet and don't give in to marketing pressure to buy it "just to be festive". You can with little effort make a commitment to providing healthier, even non-food Halloween treats this year and if you have children explore alternatives to traditional trick or treating.

Every case of breast cancer prevented is worth it ~ it may be your own or even your daughter's.