October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2019: All you need to know

October marks the month of breast cancer awareness in the world. You can see people donning pink everywhere to mark the occasion. The Union Ministry of India ranks breast cancer as the number one cancer for Indian women, with as high as 25.8 per cent occurrence and 12.7 per cent mortality per 1,00,000.

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What is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM)

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October all over the world. It is celebrated to increase awareness about the disease and to help raise funds for the ones suffering from it. The campaign is aimed at educating people about early screening and detection of breast cancer.

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India’s initiatives during the Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Pinkathon

The Pinkathon is an initiative by the United Sisters Foundation. It is India’s biggest run solely for women. It was created with the keeping in mind the objective of spreading awareness about women’s health-related issues, breast cancer in particular. Pinkathon encourages women to adopt health and fitness in their daily lifestyles by means of running.

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The underlying theme and purpose of Pinkathon is to empower more and more women. It encourages women from all walks of life to take small steps to a healthy life. Pinkathon was initially started in 2012 in Mumbai by Milind Soman and Reema Sanghavi. Pinkathon has raised almost ₹ 60 lakhs so far.

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The Pinkathon marathons for 2019 have already been taken place in Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata. The next Pinkathon marathon will be held in the city of Pune on November 10, 2019. The city of Guwahati will see the next marathon on November 17, 2019. The final phase of the Pinkathon marathon will take place in Mumbai on December 15, 2019.

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