Breast-Cancer Awareness Campaigns Seem To Work

Good news: October’s breast-cancer awareness push hasn’t increased the number of diagnosed cases. Yes, you read that right.

See, back when the awareness movement was first getting off the ground in the ’90s, they saw a big upsweep in diagnoses following October’s campaign. Nowadays, according to a study published in the Journal of Health Economics, people are more generally aware — and getting checked all year round. As one researcher puts it,

These findings suggest that women are now getting diagnosed as a result of routine screenings, as opposed to event-driven screenings. This is a good thing, since routine screening is likely to lead to earlier diagnoses…Our study is actually good news for breast cancer advocacy. It suggests that breast cancer advocacy efforts have increased awareness of the need for regular screening among American women.

Breast cancer screening is easier to study, since it’s one of the longest-running awareness campaigns. As such, these findings are useful — and good news — for younger awareness campaigns. Long story short: they work. And the more we talk about it, the better.

Breast Cancer Awareness In The Pink [Futurity.org]
Breast-Cancer Awareness Now In National Consciousness [U of Oregon]